


Aeon

by zekelandons



Category: Manifest (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 25,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24329983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zekelandons/pseuds/zekelandons
Summary: The Callings had always intended for Zeke and Michaela to be together. So when a shared Calling brings Zeke and Michaela back to the place where they first met, they discover a shocking truth and are faced with a challenge that could potentially change the course of what they know about the Callings themselves……
Relationships: Zeke Landon/Michaela Stone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	1. Michaela

**Author's Note:**

> _“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies”_ -Aristotle

_I found myself where it all began. The woods. The woods where I walked with Zeke as we had tried to figure out what the Calling that the two of us had experienced meant. I found myself standing in the spot where we had found the petrograph of the constellation Gemini. The twins. It was at that moment that Zeke and I realized that there was something else about us but we didn’t know what it was. I remembered when we looked at the petrograph, we looked down at our joined hands and we saw the lightning flash above our heads in the starry night sky. It was a beautiful night and one that I would never forget._

_But why was I back? Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me and that’s when I saw him. “Zeke?” I said, as I looked at him with surprise. “Is...is this a Calling?” He shrugged. “It might be,” he said as he walked closer to me. Suddenly, we felt the ground shake and I grabbed on to Zeke as we started to sink towards the ground. We saw a bright flash of lightning and that’s when we saw the stars. The constellation Gemini glowing brightly in the night sky. But then, something changed. The two figures began to fall from the sky. I felt Zeke wrap his arms tighter around me as we both moved our heads to see what was going on. The stars were changing into something else. “Mick, look,” Zeke whispered as he pointed at the sky. I gasped as I saw the twins turn into two dazzling birds. One looked like a phoenix and the other one looked like a white peacock. The two birds flew towards us and circled around us before heading back up into the sky. The earth gave one more shake and I felt Zeke pull me closer to him and then there was nothing._

I woke up in a cold sweat, panting. Zeke was up as well, breathing heavily. We both faced each other a mixture of shock and confusion on our faces. “Falling stars,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “Earthquake,” Zeke said.

“Peacock.”

“Phoenix.”

“The petrograph.”

“The woods.”

I looked at Zeke. “What does it mean?” I asked him. He took my hands in his own and he rubbed his right thumb over my wedding ring. “I don’t know, Mick,” he sighed as he pulled me closer to him. I melted into his embrace and we found ourselves lying in each other's arms, not saying anything. Our hearts beat as one, our breathing was in sync; everything about us was the same.

What Zeke and I had went beyond anything I had ever known about love. There was something different about us than any other relationship I was in. In Zeke, I had found my other half, my soulmate. He completed me. He was mine and always will be. I felt him stroke my hair and I sighed, feeling a little bit more calm. But that Calling seemed so real. It reminded me of the first Calling that Zeke and I both experienced in the woods, how we ended up in the same place underneath the starry night sky. It couldn’t be like that, could it? _No,_ I thought to myself. _That was about Chloe. This was different._

Zeke had sensed what I was thinking. We had developed some sort of non-verbal communication between the two of us. Somehow, we can sense what the other was feeling. Zeke rolled over and leaned his elbow on the bed and he gazed into my eyes. “I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered as he caressed my face. It was nice to see his fingers no longer bandaged up and frostbitten. “Do you think it’s something different?” I sighed.

“My gut is telling me that it is,” I said softly. “But that Calling….” I trailed off. “The stars falling from the sky, it makes no sense. Why did they turn into a phoenix and a peacock?” Zeke asked. “I don’t know, but maybe Ben might know,” I said as I rolled over and grabbed my phone. I felt Zeke pull me back. “Babe, it’s midnight. Call him in the morning,” he murmured. I groaned.

“Fine,” I sighed. I let Zeke pull me back into his arms and I laid my head on his chest. “Go back to sleep, Mick,” he said gently. “We’ll talk to Ben tomorrow.” He kissed my lips and he pulled me closer to his side and I fell back asleep, wrapped in the arms of my favorite person in the whole world. I loved Zeke so much, and I never wanted to lose him. He just meant so much to me that I couldn’t imagine a world without him in it. But that image of the stars falling still haunted me. _What is going on?_ I asked myself.


	2. Zeke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _“Beauty is the purest feeling of the soul. Beauty arises when the soul is satisfied.”_ – Amit Ray

The next morning, Mick and I drove over to Ben’s house to discuss our shared Calling that we had. After Mick had fallen asleep, I didn’t fall asleep until much later. I was up, lost in thought. There were a million things going through my mind and I was comforted by the fact that Mick was in the Calling with me. A few months ago, Mick and I had learned from Ben about Yusuf Al-Zuras, a sailor who had gone missing with his crew for ten years. His journal gave us insight about the Calling and that the only way to survive the Death Date was by following the Callings. Which I did just that. I was not going to stand by and see my nephew in danger. I had to save him. In the end, it had all paid off but the bizarre thing was that the meth heads who had kidnapped him had disappeared in the frozen lake. Mick had learned from Jared that the divers never discovered the bodies of the meth heads and we both realized that it might’ve happened again. Mick said that Jared wasn’t so sure what he had heard. But, then at the same time, the same thing had happened to both Mick and I.

We both had disappeared for a period of time and returned back into a world that moved on without us. Or at least, in my case, everyone thought I was dead and I was a lost cause. Not the Stones and certainly not Mick. Mick saw something in me that no one else had bothered to see: my good heart. “A good heart goes a long way,” she had said to me the night we first kissed. _It really does,_ I thought. Mick showed me that even people who made mistakes in their lives deserved happiness. I for one didn’t see her as someone who had made a mistake in her life until she told me about Evie. I remember that conversation when I told her about Chloe and how she just knew that type of pain, that hurt and guilt. It made me appreciate her good heart and kind nature. Her love was so gentle, so pure and so strong. _It saved me,_ I thought to myself. Her determination was something that could not be destroyed, it was like a fire that could never die how ever you tried to put it out, it wouldn’t go out. I was so lost in my thoughts I almost didn’t notice that we had arrived at Ben’s house. Mick sensed my unease and she gently put her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” she said gently. I nodded. “I hope so,” I murmured.

“A shared Calling?” Ben said as he paced around the garage, trying to figure out what it could mean. “You said you saw stars falling from the sky?”

Mick nodded. “Yeah, and it turned into a phoenix and a peacock,” she explained.

Ben whipped his glasses off, something that he always did when he was deep in thought. “The phoenix and the peacock both represent immortality and resurrection,” Ben said as he grabbed his notes. “But what does that have to do with Gemini?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea,” I said hopelessly. “I wish I knew.” Suddenly, I felt the Calling come back again.

_Mick and I were standing in front of the cave. The petrograph began to glow brightly and the ground began to shake. I grabbed on to Mick as we both sunk to the ground. I heard a loud shree and I saw the phoenix fly through the night sky, on fire. The peacock followed it closely behind. The peacock was glowing; a bright light seemed to come out of its body. The two birds flew together in perfect harmony and they came towards us. They circled around us and this time, we noticed stardust showering off their feathers and sprinkling it on to Mick and I. Then, we heard a voice that whispered over the rumbling of the earth: “Save them!”_

I gasped for air as Mick and I held onto each other for dear life. I pushed her hair back from her face. “You okay?’ I asked her. “Stardust, Zeke,” she gasped. “I saw stardust.” “The birds were glowing,” I said, rubbing my hand against her shoulder, hoping that would bring her some comfort. “Save them,” Mick said. “The Calling said ‘Save them’ but what does that even mean?” “I don’t know,” I muttered. “I didn’t see anyone else in the Calling except for the phoenix and the peacock.” I pulled Mick closer to me. “Hey,” I whispered. “We’re going to figure this out, together. Like we always do.” She smiled at me. “Together,” she murmured.

We were so focused on each other that we didn’t hear Ben go “Ahem.” We looked up at him. “You two okay?” he asked. We nodded. “What did you see this time?” Ben asked us. “We saw the phoenix and the peacock again,” Mick said as she pulled herself up from the floor. “The petrograph seemed to glow on the rock, like a light was coming from it,” I added. “The phoenix and the peacock flew around us and they showered what looked like stardust on us.” Mick said as she paced around. “They were glowing,” I interjected. The phoenix was on fire and the peacock was emitting this light from its body.”

“What color was the peacock?” Ben asked. “White,” Mick said. “A white peacock.” “And there was a voice that said ‘Save them,’” I added. “Save who?” Ben looked confused. “We don’t know,” I said. “I think the Calling has something to do with Mick and I but I don’t understand what it means.”

I felt Mick take my hand in hers and I found myself staring into the depths of her ocean blue eyes.

“Zeke,” she whispered.

“Mick..” I breathed. “Do you think…” she trailed off.

“Do you think that something is coming?” I asked her gently.

She nodded. “I think so, and whatever is coming, there’s something about it that doesn’t seem right.”

I nodded. I pulled her close to me, feeling her steady breaths against my chest. I kissed her forehead. “We’re going to do this together, Mick," I murmured softly. _Like we always do._


	3. Michaela

It was another day at the precinct. I was having my cup of coffee at my desk and working on a case when I heard footsteps and I looked up and saw Jared standing there. I gave him a small smile. “Hey,” I said as I took another sip of my coffee. “What’s up?” He pulled a chair and sat next to me. “You’ve been quiet lately,” Jared said gently. “Everything okay?” I nodded. “Everything’s fine,” I said as I went back to work.

“Mick.” Jared’s tone told me that he knew that something was bothering me. I sighed. Even though I knew Jared for years, there were things that he could never fully understand. _Like the Callings,_ I thought. _Or pain that I feel about Evie._ But what Jared could understand was when I felt uneasy. Like right now. “I had a Calling,” I said as I dug through some paperwork. “Zeke had it too.” Jared frowned. Even though Zeke, Jared and I were on somewhat good terms, I knew Jared was still hurt by the fact that I married Zeke instead of him. I figured out as much when he didn’t stay for the wedding. I couldn’t blame him. Flight 828 may have turned my life upside down, but it also was a blessing. I never thought that my picture in a magazine would lead me to a cabin in upstate New York to find myself staring face to face with the man that would become my husband. But at the same time, if I had gone home on the earlier flight, I would’ve been Mrs. Vasquez. But, something told me to take the later flight and I did. I just didn’t realize how one little decision could change your life forever. “What happened in the Calling?” Jared asked me, interrupting my thoughts. “It’s hard to explain,” I said off-handedly. “It seemed so real.” “So it was a vision?” I rolled my eyes at him. “Yeah. It was a vision---” I suddenly gasped as I felt the Calling wash over me again, but it was different. I started to lose consciousness as I slipped from my chair. The last thing I felt was myself hitting the ground before the world turned black.

_I was back at the cave. It was night and the wind was blowing. I heard screaming. I turned around and I saw a group of people, huddled together as they looked in fear at another group of people who were coming at them with swords. What the hell? I thought. “Mick!” I heard Zeke’s voice calling behind me. I turned around and I saw him running towards me. “Save them!” the voice whispered again. That’s when I saw the light. I looked up and I saw the stars fall again and they turned once more into a phoenix and a peacock. They flew down towards the ground, spreading their light across the sky. Suddenly the ground shook again. Zeke grabbed me and we found ourselves falling towards the ground. We looked up at the cave and saw the petrograph glowing once more. It was so bright that we shielded our eyes from its bright light. “It’s too bright!” I gasped. Zeke pulled me closer and we felt the light envelop us. The earth shook and the screams of the people were deafening. We looked at them as the people who were attacking them came closer and closer to them. “Save them!” the voice said again. “Save them!” The last thing we heard was the loud shree of the phoenix and the peacock and the sound of blood curdling screaming of the other people._

“Mick, wake up, hey it’s okay I’m here,” I heard Jared say softly to me. “It’s fine. You’re with me.” I opened my eyes as I winced at the bright light. I noticed that we were in one of the conference rooms at the precinct. I was lying on the floor. I noticed that Drea, my partner, was by Jared’s side. She looked concerned. I groaned. “Take it easy, Mick,” she said as she crouched down my side. In her hand, she had a cup of water. “This should help,” she said as she gave it to me. I nodded. “Thanks,” I said softly. I took a sip, feeling the cold water running down my throat. I sighed. “What happened?” I asked. “We were talking and then I…” “You fainted,” said Drea. Jared gave Drea a gentle look. “Hey, could you give Mick and I a moment alone?” he asked. “I’ll get you in a bit.” Drea nodded. She gave me a small smile and a pat on the arm before she got up and left the room. After Drea had left, Jared looked at me with concern. “Mick. That was a Calling, wasn’t it?” I sighed deeply. “Yeah, but normally I don’t black out like that,” I said as I took another sip of water. “It felt like I was being pulled under by some force. The earth was shaking, it was night and I saw them again.”

“Who’s them?”

“Sorry. A phoenix and a peacock.”

“And what does that have to do with anything? And how is Zeke tied into it?”

“When Zeke and I were in upstate last year, we found a petrograph of the constellation Gemini on a cave wall,” I explained. “We think the petrograph had something to do with us.” Jared gave me a long look. “So…..this petrograph told you that you and Zeke should be a thing?” he asked. I gave a long exasperated sigh. “Jared, the Callings brought Zeke and I together for a reason. I was drawn to him and vice versa. The petrograph is a metaphor that Zeke and I need to do it together.”

“Do what together?”

“Follow the Callings?” I was frustrated. “Jared, I’m sorry, but I can’t really explain this to you. All you need to know is that Zeke was brought into my life for a reason and the Callings want us to be together. The whole damn universe wants him and I to be together. He survived the Death Date because he followed the Callings. The Callings aren’t done with us yet.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Jared asked. “You know phoenixes aren’t real.”

“If the Calling is showing me a phoenix you damn well know it’s real,” I snapped. I saw the hurt on Jared’s face. “I’m sorry,” I said, as I reached out my hand to touch his shoulder. “It’s just…..this Calling is different.” Jared nodded. “I called Zeke and he’s coming by. Just….take it easy, will you Mick?” I nodded. “I’ll try,” I muttered. Jared got up and left the room.

I was left alone with my thoughts. _What the hell do you want with me?_


	4. Zeke

The sound of my cell phone ringing woke me up after the Calling that I had experienced again. Except, I wished that Mick was in the same room as me. I felt lonely in the apartment without her and it hurt not having her by my side. I pushed myself up from the ground and I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and I looked at the caller ID. To my surprise, it was Jared. I answered the phone.

“Hey, Jared,” I said I rubbed my hand over my face. “What’s up?”

“Mick had an incident at work,” he explained. “Can you swing by?”

“Yeah,” I said as I stood up. “Is she okay?”

“She’s resting.”

“Did she say anything to you about it?”

“She snapped at me,”

“Figures. I’ll come by. She’ll talk to me.”

“Okay, see you soon.” Jared said and I ended the call. _She had it too,_ I thought as I raced around the apartment, grabbing my coat and the keys. _And of course she’d be snappy at Jared. He doesn’t get it. And he probably never will._

When I got to the precinct, Jared was at the front lobby, waiting for me. “Hey,” he said. I gave him a nod. “Where is she?” I asked. I wanted to make sure that my wife was okay. “She’s in a conference room. I’ll take you there.” Jared led the way to the conference room and when he got there, he pulled me aside. “Look, I know that the Callings wanted you and Mick to be together, but it doesn’t help that much when she won’t talk to me about it.” Jared said, his voice had a slight hard edge to it. “She can only say so much. But she is right, she needs to talk to me about it because I had it too. Sorry Jared.” He gave me a nod and left and I walked into the conference room. Mick was sitting on the floor, her face in her hands. I hated it when she was like this, hopeless and defeated. I remembered the nights when she would wake up in tears, sobbing into my chest that she was scared to lose me to the Death Date. I had cried too, because I didn’t want to lose that happiness I had only so recently found with her. _She is everything to me,_ I thought to myself. I crouched down to her level and put my hand on her knee. She looked up at me. Her eyes were red from crying. I felt my heart break for her. “Hey,” I said softly as I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I’m here.” She nodded as she sniffed and rubbed her hand over her nose. “I had it again,” she said, her voice shaky. “Me too,” I said as I moved closer to her side and I wrapped my arm around her back and I pulled her close to me. She laid her head on my shoulder

We sat in silence. In times like this, silence was good. It allowed us to collect our thoughts and process what had happened. After what seemed like an eternity, Mick spoke. “Did you see the people?” she asked. I nodded. “They looked like sailors or something,” I said as I pushed her hair back from her face.

“Sailors?” she gave me a puzzled look.

“Yeah. They looked like sailors to me.”

“Did you see the other group of people?”

I nodded. “They looked like pirates to me.” She gave a small chuckle. “Pirates? Man you have a good imagination.” I smiled at her. Mick gave me a serious look. “So, sailors, pirates, a petrograph, earthquake and a phoenix and a peacock. And ‘Save them’. Are we supposed to save a whole bunch of sailors?” I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I whispered as I kept stroking Mick’s hair. “There’s no ocean nearby for them,” she said. “But the Hudson is close by I guess.” I nodded. “So, you think we’re supposed to go to the Hudson to find a group of sailors?” I asked her. She sighed. “Maybe? But the petrograph, Zeke,” she said as she turned as she faced me. “It was glowing. And the phoenix and the peacock….why are they in the Calling?” She sighed again and I pulled her closer to me.

“We are going to figure this out. Together.” I closed my eyes and I let myself relax. Mick snuggled closer to me. I was comforted by the fact that she was by me. But, I still felt uneasy. The Calling was warning us about something but what? _Are we in danger?_ I thought. _Whatever is coming, I will do everything that I can to protect us._


	5. Michaela

When Zeke and I got home from the precinct, he had me sit on the couch while he made dinner. He made me my favorite meal ever: Alfredo. Zeke had developed a recipe for a killer alfredo sauce that not only was it a hit at our apartment, but also at Ben’s house too. Zeke and Grace spent a lot of time cooking together in the kitchen and Grace had eventually hired him on as one of her staff at the catering business. The other staff members appreciated his cooking skills and he enjoyed working there. On his days off, like today, he would go to his NA group and have his weekly meeting with his sponsor. Zeke was also a sponsor and mentor to a teen NA group and he would help those teens out as well. He said he wanted to help those who were struggling with drug abuse and I told him to go for it. He didn’t want to see other kids like himself to go down the dark path that he went on after Chloe’s death. On the nights I had to work late, he would talk to those kids via video chat and he told me that they really appreciated his advice and company.

I heard him grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and he dished the alfredo into the bowl and he added some parsley for garnish along with a little bit of black pepper. I could already smell the alfredo and how creamy and warm it was. He brought it over to me with a fork and a cup of tea. I gave him a smile. “Here you go,” he said as he handed me the bowl of alfredo. “Thanks,” I said as I took a mouthful of it and I sighed. “Mmmmmm….” I murmured as I let my tastebuds savor the richness and the creaminess of the alfredo. Zeke laughed. “You always love my cooking, don’t you?” I looked up at him, feeling that there was a noodle hanging out my mouth and I giggled. I pushed the stray noodle back in my mouth and I smacked my lips. “You always make the best food,” I said as I chewed my alfredo. I grabbed my tea from the coffee table and I took a sip. “I’ll be right back,” Zeke said as he went back to the kitchen and grabbed himself a bowl of alfredo and a cup of tea. I made room for him on the couch and we sat together, eating our alfredo together. I loved these moments with Zeke. And for a long time, I never thought that we would have these moments together with the impending Death Date that loomed over his head. But, my mother’s favorite verse echoed back in my head: _“All things work together for good.”_ I smiled. _All things do work together for good,_ I thought. _They really do._

Later that night, Zeke and I stayed up, laying in each other’s arms, our bodies intertwined. We both knew that the Calling that we both experienced was deeply unsettling and disturbing. I closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep but I couldn’t. My mind was swirling around with thoughts. Zeke had sensed it too. “Hey,” he whispered gently as he pulled me closer to his side. “Can’t sleep?” I nodded. “It’s hard to sleep when you can’t figure out what a Calling means,” I muttered. Zeke gave a small chuckle. “I know.” He kissed my head and I felt myself relax somewhat. He gently caressed my face as I stared into his gentle hazel eyes.

“Zeke…” I whispered.

“Hmm?”

“I’m glad I have you.”

“Me too.”

“I love you,”

“I love you too, Mick. Trust me, we’ll figure this out---” He suddenly stopped talking.

_That’s when we heard a loud gust of wind blow outside and suddenly, the window burst open, filling our bedroom with cold air. Zeke held me close to his side and that’s when we saw the light. The phoenix and the peacock flew right into our bedroom. We both gasped and stared at the two birds in awe and in fear. “What do you want from us?” I whispered. That’s when we saw the ship fly through our window. The strange thing about it though was that it was made out of stars and it was opaque. We could see the people on the ship as they worked together. We heard a loud thunder crack and we saw a flash of lightning flash across the sky. The phoenix looked at the peacock, nodded and they both flew back to the sky. They flew through the storm and around the ship before circling around us. As they circled around us, we noticed that the scenery was changing. Our bedroom disappeared and we were back in the woods again. Zeke looked at me. “That was a bizarre Calling,” he said as he took my hand. “Yeah,” I said as I walked closer to him. “Did we just seriously see a ship made out of stars fly into our bedroom?” Zeke looked at me. “Yeah. And the phoenix and the peacock….there’s something about them.” We looked around the woods. “Come on,” I said as I pulled Zeke towards me. “The cave is nearby.” Zeke gave me a smile as he walked with me towards the cave. When we got to the cave, we found ourselves standing right in front of the petrograph. The stars shone brightly above us as it cast a gentle light on the surface of the cave. The earth started to shake again. “Mick, hold on tight!” Zeke yelled as the wind started to pick up again. I found myself pushing towards him as we started to sink towards the ground. The petrograph began to glow again as we heard the all too familiar shrees of the phoenix and the peacock above us. Zeke and I looked up and we saw them again, flying across the sky, illuminating their light around us. And we heard the voice whisper once again “Save them!” “Save who?” I yelled. And the Calling faded once more._

Zeke and I panted heavily as we held on to each other. We gazed into each others eyes, knowing what we had witnessed was something out of the ordinary. We both realized what we had to do now. “We’re going to Tannersville,” I said as I took his hands in my own. “To where it all began.”


	6. Zeke

I looked at Mick like she was insane. “You want to go back to Tannersville?” I asked her. She nodded. “We’ve got no choice.” She noticed my expression on my face. “I know that Tannersville doesn’t bring back a whole lot of positive memories for you,” she said gently, “but the petrograph is there. We have to go back.” I had to agree with her on that. Even though Tannersville was the place where I had lost Chloe, it had a new memory now: Michaela. I looked at the alarm clock; it was past 1:00 AM. “We should try to catch some sleep,” I whispered to Mick. She responded by yawning. “Yeah, we should,” she said sleepily. She snuggled closer to me and we laid back down on our bed. Soon, the gentle sound of her breathing told me that she was already fast asleep. I gazed at her. _So beautiful, so peaceful,_ I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and let sleep take over me.

The next morning, Mick called the precinct, letting them know that she was taking a few days off. She called Drea to tell her that she was going to be gone and that she and Jared could be partners for the next couple of days. After we had a quick breakfast, we headed to Ben’s house to tell him that we were going to be in upstate for a few days. And also to give him a rundown of the latest Calling that we had experienced. Mick was unusually quiet this morning as we drove to Ben’s house. I could tell she was thinking of how vivid that Calling we had last night was. It was definitely something out of the ordinary. “You okay?” I asked her. She sighed softly. “That Calling seemed so real,” she said. “It felt like we were actually in the woods. Like we were transported there.” “Yeah,” I said softly. She was right though. I’ve had my fair share of experiences with the Callings but none of them felt so real like this one. The Callings were bizarre and unusual and they came in all different ways. If I hadn’t had Mick to explain them to me, I would’ve been lost. _The whole world would think I was a schizophrenic,_ I thought to myself. I remember when I had gone to visit my mother after Mick had released me from the precinct when I first came back. My mother thought I was on drugs, after I told her what had really happened to me. She turned me away, saying terrible things to me. I later learned from her that Mick had stopped to visit her and convinced her to talk to me. _Mick….._ Her huge heart, her kindness really drew me towards her and how she saw something in me that no one else saw in me. My mother and I eventually fixed our relationship and she and Mick became close. Mom had become like a second mother to Mick and she and Mick talked a lot with each other. When Dad first met Mick, he took an instant liking to her. Dad and I were still working on mending our relationship and I remember telling him about Mick at Chloe’s beach. Dad told me that I was lucky to have her. _I am the luckiest man in the world,_ I thought as I thought about the woman who I was lucky to call my wife. I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost didn’t feel Mick touch my shoulder. “We’re here,” she said.

“So….the Calling literally came into your bedroom?” Ben asked, his face filled with awe and confusion. “I mean….damn….that is one hell of a Calling.” Mick and I looked at each other. “You could say that,” Mick said as she paced around. “It was…..fascinating.” I could tell from her tone that she was unsure. It was a fascinating Calling, but also, it was frightening too. How one moment, we were in our bedroom and the next moment, we were in the woods. “This wasn’t a normal Calling, Ben,” I said as I walked towards him. “I think there’s something in Tannersville we have to discover. We kept seeing a group of people. I think they’re sailors judging by the clothes that they were wearing.” Ben whipped his glasses off. “Sailors?” he said, clearly dumbfounded. He went to his desk and dug out a map of the state of New York. He found Tannersville on the map. “The Hudson is close by,” he said as he put his glasses back on. “But why sailors?” Mick sighed. “That’s why we need to go to Tannersville,” she explained. “Something is telling me that there’s something big there.” I nodded. “I agree with Mick,” I said. “Tannersville may not bring the happiest of memories back to me, but it's where Mick and I met. We have to go back.” Ben nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Keep us in the loop.” Mick nodded. “We will.” We said our goodbyes to Ben and we headed off to Tannersville.

It was nightfall when we got to Tannersville. I took Mick’s hand as we walked in the woods together. I had my flashlight with me in my other hand and I shone it around. We had passed the cabin where we first met and we were suddenly hit with memories. _“You can’t run from this!”_ Mick had told me as I was trying to walk away from her and the woods. _“You gotta trust me.”_ I remembered her throwing me the bag of pork rinds after she had told me that the store didn’t have any left. To this day, Mick always went to the store and she would buy me a bag of pork rinds to have at home to munch on. I knew she hated them, she even told me that. _"They still make those, right?”_ I had asked her. She gave me a smirk. _“Yeah, unfortunately,”_ she had said back. I remember her smiling back at me and how I was already smitten by her. I looked at Mick, gazing into those gentle blue eyes of her. She knew what I was thinking. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” I asked her. She gave me a small nod. “We did,” she said as she stepped closer to me. I pulled her close and we embraced each other. I stroked her hair and we said nothing for a while as we let the moment sink in. We never thought that in the span of a year, our lives would forever be changed not only by the Callings but also by each other. We went from complete strangers to becoming husband and wife in a year. _I never thought this would happen to me,_ I thought, but my thoughts were soon interrupted by the Calling. 

_Mick and I pulled back as we found ourselves underneath the starry night sky. Gemini glowed above our heads. We heard the wind start to pick up and we heard the ground begin to shake once again. We both felt ourselves being pushed towards the ground and we grunted as we hit the ground. We looked up and we found ourselves lying in front of the cave. The petrograph shone brightly, filling the area with its light. We heard the all too familiar cries of the phoenix and the peacock as they flew towards us and they landed right in front of us. They looked at us intently. We heard “Save them!” and we saw the sailors once again. The earth gave one more rumble and the Calling faded out again._

Mick and I gasped for air. We both looked at each other and we knew what we had to do. “We’re going to the cave,” I said as I pulled myself up from the ground. “To see what the Calling has in store for us.” _And to figure out what it really means._


	7. Michaela

We found ourselves standing in front of the cave, looking at the petrograph. Except this time, we were actually there, and not in the Calling. Zeke looked at me. “Remember that night?” he asked me, his voice soft. I nodded. “That is one night that I will never forget.” I told him. In fact, there were several nights that I would never forget. Like the night that Zeke and I were finally reunited after he was released from prison where we hugged in the prison lamplight. I remember how I was beginning to fall in love with him but I was scared to open myself up to him, only to lose him to the Death Date. Or the night when we had our first kiss and made our relationship official. Or the night after the nightclub fire, he told me that he loved me. I remembered those words he told me. _"I love you. I’m all in. I don’t know if you have room for me, but I love you.”_ I remembered that night, my walls came tumbling down and I was truly ready to face whatever came our way with Zeke. The night that he told me that the frostbite had started to appear, I was so scared, so frightened that the happiness we had only so recently found was about to be ripped away from us. But both Zeke and I were ready to face it together. I was determined not to lose him.

The night that he proposed to me was one of the happiest days of my life. That day in particular was hard. Zeke had told me he was stopping the treatment and he was ready to accept the Death Date. But he wanted to make one more memory with me and that was when he got down on one knee in our living room and asked me to be his wife, even if it was for a day. I knew what my answer was and I could not say no to the man who had stolen my heart all those months ago. But, our wedding day was by far the happiest day of my life. It was such a simple, yet intimate ceremony with our closest family and friends there to watch Zeke and I say “I do.” The next day was a wide range of emotions as I lost Zeke and got him back after he sacrificed himself to save Cal. _He really has a good heart,_ I thought to myself. I had told Beverly about Zeke and how much he had impacted my life in the span of just a few months. Cal said that Zeke and I had to do it together and I was glad that I had Zeke by my side. He was my rock, my foundation, my strength. I could always rely on him for everything. And now, here we were, at the cave where we realized that we were something more. I never thought we would come back here again after all this time but here we were. _“Why don’t we stay up here and forget the world?”_ Zeke had said to me. I wanted to stay, but I knew we had to head back. And I had to deal with my own problems, which I didn’t want to. But being back here gave me peace that I hadn’t felt in such a long time.

My thoughts were interrupted when Zeke and I heard _“Save them!” “Save them!” Save them!”_ We looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. The voice kept getting louder and louder the more we turned around, trying to figure the source of the voice. That’s when we heard the low murmurs of people behind us. We turned around and we found ourselves staring at a group of men. Zeke was right about them; they were definitely sailors. As we peered closer at them, we realized that their clothing was from a completely different time period.

There was one sailor who looked at us with curiosity. He walked towards us and he gasped. “You’re them,” he said softly. “You are the ones I have seen in my visions.” Zeke and I looked at each other. _You’ve seen visions of us?_ I thought to myself. I couldn’t believe it and I could tell that Zeke couldn’t believe it either. “What do you mean, seeing visions of us?” Zeke asked. The sailor stepped closer. “They say that you two were always meant to be,” he explained. “The voice kept telling me to find them, and now, I am here. Standing in front of you.” “Who are you?” I asked the sailor. “I am Yusuf Al-Zuras,” said the sailor. Zeke and I looked at each other in shock. “That’s...that’s impossible,” Zeke breathed. “We...we read your journal. Your journal..it gave us insight about the Death Date and how to beat it.” Al-Zuras looked at Zeke with interest. “So you’re the one who cheated death,” he said. Zeke nodded. “I did.” Al-Zuras looked at me. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he said, “but who are you and why have I been seeing you in my visions?” I cleared my throat. “I’m Michaela,” I told him. “And this is my husband, Zeke.” At that moment, I heard footsteps rushing towards us and I saw a beautiful girl standing right there, her face filled with pure shock. She had long black hair, pale hazel eyes and full lips. She looked at Zeke like he was a ghost. I noticed Zeke walking towards her. “Zeke?” the girl said, her voice shaky as she tried to control her nerves. “Is it really you?” I heard a sob come from her and Zeke’s face was filled with emotion. “Chloe?” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOH PLOT TWIST!!


	8. Zeke

_That’s not possible,_ I told myself. _No, Zeke, it’s not possible._ I felt myself fall towards the ground, my body heaving with sobs. I felt Mick put her hand on my back and I felt all the pain, the guilt wash over me again. I looked at Chloe. She wasn’t the nine year old girl that I knew anymore. She had grown up. But how? “Chloe...you...you..died,” I stuttered. She shook her head. “I didn’t,” she explained. “It’s hard to explain what happened.” Mick looked at Chloe with interest. “What did happen to you?” she asked. “That day, I wanted to go to the ravine,” she explained. “I wasn’t allowed to go there on my own. So Zeke came with me.” I felt the memories of that awful day come back to me. It was my fault and my fault alone. “I...I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt this urge to go there. But Zeke didn’t want to go so I went on my own.” Hearing those words made the pain only get worse. “I got to the top of the ravine and I felt this force or something pull me down when I got too close to the edge,” Chloe said softly. “But, Chloe,” I said as I looked at her, seeing the pain in those gentle hazel eyes. “We found your dead body. We buried you. We had a funeral and everything. It’s not possible.” Chloe looked at me. “The body you found was a fake,” she explained. “It was planted there. It was a fake body with cotton stuffed inside. I saw it as I was falling and the thing was, I never hit the ground. I fell into some sort of portal and I landed in the ocean. Al-Zuras and his men saved my life.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. _A fake body to fool my parents and I that my little sister was dead? It made no sense._ I could tell what Mick was thinking. As a detective, she was always looking for clues to solve a mystery. This was really bizarre. “Who planted the body?” Mick asked Chloe. “I don’t know,” she said. “I saw visions of it being made. That was after I had joined Al-Zuras and his crew.” “You didn’t get a good look, did you?” Mick asked Chloe. Chloe sighed. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t.” I looked at Chloe. “Chloe, I’m so so sorry,” I choked out the words. “I know what I did was unforgivable. It was all my fault. I should’ve kept a closer eye on you but….” That’s when the sobs began to come back again and I sobbed into Chloe, holding her close to me. She pulled me closer to her and she stroked my hair. “Zeke, it’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m here.” I pulled back and I looked at her. How was I going to explain how her supposed “death” destroyed our family? How Dad left Mom and I by ourselves? How Mom withdrew and how I turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain from the guilt I felt each day? I couldn’t bear myself to tell her, but I looked at Mick and I felt her give me strength once again. “After you um….disappeared,” I said, trying to figure out how I was going to tell her what happened. “Dad….he left. Mom...she withdrew and I….I….became an addict. Because I blamed myself for your death, Chloe. And for years, that was my life, trying to numb that pain.” Chloe looked at me, the sadness evident in her hazel eyes. “Oh Zeke,” she whispered. “I’m so so sorry. I shouldn’t have gone to the ravine.” She started crying too and we held on to each other, knowing that we had found each other once again.

After what seemed like an eternity, Chloe and I stood up and I looked at her. _She really has grown up,_ I thought to myself. I guessed that she was probably in her early 20’s. I was almost thirty and it seemed so crazy that so much time had passed since then. “Michaela? Is that you?” I heard an unfamiliar voice with a very thick British accent speak up. I looked and saw two people. One was a woman with short red hair and the other was a man with whisps of strawberry blonde hair. Mick gasped. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Captain Daly? Fiona? Is that you?” The woman named Fiona nodded. “Yes, it’s us,” she explained. “How...how did you end up with Al-Zuras?” Mick asked, clearly dumbfounded. “We crashed into the ocean and Al-Zuras and his crew found us,” Daly explained. “We traveled back in time,” Fiona added. Fiona noticed me standing by Mick’s side. “And who are you?” she asked. “I’m Zeke,” I said. “I’m Michaela’s husband. How..how do you know Mick?” I asked. “I was the pilot of Flight 828,” Daly said. I looked at Daly with interest. _So he was the pilot of Flight 828,_ I thought. “But...I thought you all came back at the same time,” I said, clearly not seeing how the dots were connected. “We did,” Fiona said, “but Daly was desperate to prove that Flight 828 wasn’t his fault. He blamed me because I did research on mirror neurons; how our minds are connected. He thinks I caused Flight 828’s disappearance so he kidnapped me and we flew into a lightning storm and we disappeared.” I looked at Mick in disbelief. “Um...okay,” I said, trying to process what I just heard. Mick stepped closer to me. “Ben and I tried to stop him,” she said softly. “Daly went off the rails. He was obsessed with Flight 828’s disappearance and with Fiona’s research. But….Chloe, Daly and Fiona all landed in Al-Zuras’s time. And now, they’re here, in our time. In 2019.” I looked at Al-Zuras. “How did you end up in our time? Was there a storm or something?” Al-Zuras nodded. “There was. We were in the southern seas and we were blown way off course and we landed here. But where are we?” “You’re in North America,” Mick said.

Just when she said that, I felt the Calling come again as it pulled me and Mick down. I gasped. “When will it stop?” I gritted my teeth as I tried to push myself up from the ground, but it was no use. The Calling was only getting more and more stronger by the minute.

_We found ourselves in front of the cave. The earth kept shaking and I crawled towards Mick’s side as I held onto her for dear life. But something was different. We heard rocks falling. Mick faced me. “Rockslide!” she cried. The voice kept whispering to us “Save them! Save them!” Suddenly we heard crashing and we saw the phoenix and the peacock rise from the cave, glowing brighter than ever before. The petrograph on the cave wall glowed even brighter and the wind howled above us. The earth shook and I grabbed onto Mick, holding her close to me. “Something’s coming,” I breathed. “Something bad.”_


	9. Michaela

After the Calling faded out, I was panting hard. _When will it stop?_ I asked myself. I felt Zeke pull me closer to him and we held on to each other, not saying a word. In these moments, words didn’t have to be spoken. What we saw this time was frightening. A rockslide. Who are we supposed to save from the rockslide? I thought as Zeke pulled me closer to his side. I let my head fall on his chest and I breathed, trying to calm my nerves. He stroked my hair gently and I knew that I was safe with him.

The next morning, Zeke and I joined Al-Zuras and his crew to bring their supplies back up from their ship. It was a trek towards the Hudson and while we were walking, hand in hand, I could sense something was bothering him. “You okay?” I asked him. He sighed. “I….I still can’t believe she’s alive, Mick,” he said softly. I knew he was talking about Chloe. “Yeah,” I murmured. “I still feel terrible about it still,” he said, choking on his words. We stopped walking and I took his hands in both of mine. “Zeke,” I said, rubbing my thumbs over his. “I know. I would be like that too if Evie was still alive and if she hadn’t died in the car accident. But, you have a second chance with Chloe.” He smiled at me. “I do,” he whispered. He pulled me close and we embraced each other. We were like that for a while until we heard an “Ahem” from Al-Zuras. He gave us a long look. “Hate to break up your little moment,” he said, “but I believe we have a task ahead of us that’s going to take all day long if we don’t hurry up.” I chuckled. “We’re coming,” I said. I pulled away but I still held on to Zeke’s hand. He gave me a smile. He and I followed Al-Zuras and the rest of the crew down to the Hudson.

While on our walk there, Al-Zuras looked concerned about something. “Are you alright?” I asked him. He nodded. “It’s nothing you should be too concerned about,” he said as he kept walking. I knew something wasn’t right.

“Yusuf. Something’s bothering you.”

He sighed. “Alright. I guess you should know.” He gestured for me and Zeke to join him over at a small rock outcropping. He sat down on the outcropping and sighed. “Before the storm hit,” he said as he was trying to find the right words to say. “I was betrayed by my first mate, Ibrahim.” Zeke and I looked at each other. “What did he do?” Zeke asked. Al-Zuras looked at Zeke, the pain and guilt in his eyes so evident. “He ignored my advice,” Al-Zuras murmured. “What advice?” I asked him. “The Voice,” said Al-Zuras. “I told him that listening to the Voice was the only way to survive. He didn’t think that was right so there…..there...was a mutiny.” Al-Zuras’s body shuddered at the memory. “He and a whole bunch of the crew were convinced that the Voice couldn’t control their lives so they left, with half of my crew. Those who survived were lucky, there were some who weren’t. Those of us who survived, we managed to fit into a small boat but Ibrahim took the main boat. He said that he will find us and he will kill me to prove to the world that I was a madman for following the Voice.” Zeke and I looked at each other. “The Callings,” I said. Al-Zuras looked at us.

“I’m sorry what?”

“The Voice. We call them the Callings. I was on an airplane that disappeared for five and a half years. Captain Daly and Fiona were on that plane too. Zeke wasn’t on the plane. He disappeared for a year and came back as well. The passengers on the plane, or at least some of them, experience what we call the Callings; visions, voices in our heads. We thought it wasn’t real but the Callings they do good. They help us save people.”

“And you know for every blessing, a trial must be followed,” Al-Zuras muttered darkly. “We read your journal,” Zeke said. “We know the consequences for not following the Callings.” I shuddered at the thought of that. It was my fault that I didn’t let the meth heads go when I should’ve. But what could I do? I’m a cop. I’m supposed to put bad guys behind bars, not let them run around free, wreaking havoc everywhere. It was my fault that I let those sons of bitches kidnap my nephew on my wedding night and having a conversation with Ben that almost broke me only made it worse. Ben blamed me and he was right. I was mad at the Callings for ruining the happiness that I had found with Zeke. If I had followed them, Cal wouldn’t have been kidnapped. But at the same time, I realized later on that it was a blessing in disguise. Cal’s kidnapping triggered a Calling in Zeke that led him to save Cal’s life at the lake, but at a cost. I lost Zeke that night and everything in me felt so lost and hopeless. But, I remembered the glow that came from his body and he was alive again with no frostbite. That night, my faith was restored once again in the Callings and I knew I would follow them towards the ends of the earth to do whatever they wanted of me.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t feel Zeke’s hand on my back. I turned and looked at him. “You okay?” he asked. I nodded. “Yeah,” I said softly. “I’m okay. I was just thinking about….” I couldn’t finish because I felt the Calling hit me and Zeke once again.

_We were back at the cave, except instead of the outside, we were on the inside. Zeke and I looked at each other with confusion. “Why are we on the inside of the cave?” he asked as he took my hand. That’s when we heard the cries for help. It sounded like kids. “Help! Help! Someone help us!” I heard them cry. I looked at Zeke, my body trembling with fear. “Zeke, there’s kids in here,” I gasped as I grabbed his hand and led him deeper into the cave. That’s when we saw rocks covering our path and we could hear the kids yelling in fear. “This is what the Calling wanted us to do,” Zeke breathed. “Save them. Save the kids.”_


	10. Zeke

Mick and I looked at each other in complete shock and horror. “We have to go back now,” I said. Al-Zuras looked at us. “Did you have a Calling?” he asked. Mick nodded. “Yeah,” she said as she started to walk away. “Bring your men. We are going to need all the help we can get.” Al-Zuras nodded and he yelled at his men to come with him.

Mick and I began running towards the cave. _So the Calling was about a group of kids stuck in a cave?_ I thought as I ran faster. _What do Al-Zuras and his men and also his treacherous first mate have to do with it? And a phoenix and peacock?_ I turned and looked at Mick as she ran by my side. She had a sense of determination in her form as she ran. Mick was always determined and it always showed. _Your determination is one of the many reasons why I love you so much,_ I thought to myself as I kept running. Everything seemed like a blur for me as I ran through the woods, I was determined to help save those kids.

When we had gotten to the cave, I told Al-Zuras and his men to stay back while Mick and I went inside the cave to see if we could find the kids. We told Al-Zuras that we would come fetch him when we needed him. He nodded. “My crew will be glad to help,” he said as he gestured towards his crew. His men agreed and gave a hearty cheer. I noticed Chloe and Captain Daly and Fiona also had joined in agreement with them. _Glad we have a crew of sailors to help us out,_ I thought.

Mick and I walked inside the cave, not saying anything. In my left hand, I held her hand and in my right hand, I held a flashlight to see where we could find these kids. Being back in the cave brought back memories. I found the spot where I had built a fire, to keep myself warm during that blizzard that had changed my life forever. And it was there where Mick’s picture from the magazine gave me the strength to live. I felt her squeeze my hand; she always knew when I felt something bothering me. It was also in this cave where I told her my deepest and darkest secret that I kept to myself for years on end. How I was responsible for what had happened to Chloe. And it was in this cave where she told me about Evie, and how she was responsible for her death. I remembered that look so well. For the first time in my life, I had found someone that actually understood me, who knew what I had gone through. I looked at Mick, feeling admiration for her swell up in my chest. _It was only a year ago,_ I thought as I stepped closer to her. _But it seemed like it was only yesterday when I met her._ I found myself staring into her ocean blue eyes, feeling both lost and found at the same time. I could tell what she was thinking. She remembered too. She looked at the spot where I had my campfire. _“Here’s where I decided not to burn your picture,”_ I said to her. I remember that grin she gave me. _“Oh thank you,”_ she had said. I still remembered that look she gave me. I was smitten by her. _“No thank you,”_ I told her. Her picture had saved my life. _“Your picture was the one thing that kept me going.”_ It really was. That gentle smile, those blue eyes, it spoke to me. “You remember that?” she whispered. I nodded. “I do,” I said, as I pulled her closer to my side. “I’ll never forget that day, Mick.” She looked at me, giving me one of her smiles that she only reserved for me. “Neither will I.”

We started walking again, and we began to notice that the cave started to get narrower the further we walked in. I still held on to Mick’s hand as she followed behind me. “You’re not claustrophobic?” I asked her. “No,” she said. “Well that’s a good thing I guess. Chloe sure was.” I chuckled lightly at that. Chloe hated tight spaces and I couldn’t blame her. Not many people were big fans of small, tight narrow spaces anyways. That’s when we heard them, the kids. Their screams were muffled slightly, but we could hear them. “Hello? Hello? Is there someone out there?” I heard someone yell.

“Yes!” I yelled back.

“Are you alright?”

“No! We’re stuck!”

“Don’t worry, we’re going to get you out. Hang tight!”

Mick and I ran and we found ourselves standing right in front of the rocks that had trapped these kids inside. “This is exactly how we saw it in the Calling,” I whispered. She nodded. She began to pull the rocks away. “Hey!” she yelled. “We’re here to help you. How many of you are inside?” A girl’s voice responded. “Seven!” But before Mick could respond, the Calling hit us again, and we found ourselves falling towards the cold, hard cave floor.

_Mick and I were still at the rock pile that blocked the kids from us. We suddenly heard the earthquake again as the rocks began to shake. We began to push the rocks aside and we found the kids inside, dirty, bruised and exhausted. There were four boys and two girls. Mick and I rushed towards them and guided them to safety but then we heard a cry for help. There was another girl who was stuck further in the little cavity. We pulled her out and we tried to scramble out ourselves but then I heard Mick gasp. That’s when we saw our bodies on the ground._ Are we...are...we...dead? _The thought was too much to bear. “No,” Mick whispered. Suddenly, the phoenix and the peacock appeared again, except this time, they were rising above our bodies. They shot across the cave, illuminating the cave with their light._

__

__

The Calling soon cut out and suddenly, we felt the earth begin to shake. “It’s happening!” Mick cried. “Zeke, it’s now or never. We have to save these kids!” That’s when we heard the loud crashing noises of rocks falling from above the cave and we knew it was happening. We heard the voice whisper over the crashing of the rock "Save them!"


	11. Michaela

I looked at Zeke and he nodded back at me. “We need to get these kids out,” I said as I began to push the rocks away. Zeke and I worked as a team and we dug out the rocks. The kids were screaming as the earth shook below us. “Hold on!” Zeke yelled. “We’re almost there.” Each rock that we pulled out felt different. Either it was super heavy or it was super light. I found myself holding on to an extremely heavy rock and I grunted as I heaved it away from me.

After what seemed like an eternity, Zeke and I started to see bits and pieces of the kids. The kids were helping us out as well; removing the rocks that were blocking them from us. I felt my hands touch one of the kids’s hands. “Oh my God!” I heard the kid cry. “I thought no one would come for us.” “We’re going to get you out of here,” I told the kid. I pushed the last bit of rock away and Zeke and I found ourselves looking at a ragtag group of six kids. They looked like they were in their early teens and it seemed like they had gotten lost or something inside the cave. I felt my cop self go into action. “Everyone out, out, out!” I yelled. “Hold on to each other!” Zeke and I went after them, making sure they got out safe. We heard Al-Zuras and his men from a distance as they helped guide the kids to safety. Zeke and I started to make our way out when we heard a faint cry of “Help me!”

“There’s someone else in here!” I gasped as Zeke and I looked at each other in horror. “I’ll get her,” Zeke said as he ran back deeper in the cave. “Zeke! I’m not losing you again. I’m coming with you. We’re doing this together.” I was not going to relive that nightmare of me losing Zeke again. I had lost him once. That was bad enough and I never wanted that to happen again. “Hurry, Mick!” he yelled back at me. I ran towards him, dodging the falling rock that kept falling on top of us. We got back to the place where we had found the kids and we looked around for the girl we had seen in the Calling. “Help me!” we heard her cry again. “Please, someone help me!” _Where is she?_ I thought as I scrambled around trying to find this girl who got left behind. “Mick!” I heard Zeke yell. He was standing in a corner, pulling out the rocks. “She’s in here.” I rushed towards Zeke and I winced as the rocks scrapped my fingers, causing them to bleed. I wasn’t letting that stop me from rescuing this poor girl.

Zeke and I worked together to dig the girl out and after what seemed like forever, we got all the rocks out and we found ourselves looking at a very disheveled, dirty, and bruised girl. From what I could tell, I guessed that she was about thirteen or fourteen years old. Her head was matted with dried blood and she had a giant black eye on her right eye. She looked at Zeke and I in relief. “Oh thank God you’re here!” she sobbed. “I was so worried that no one was going to find me in here.” “We’re here now, and we are going to get you out of here,” Zeke said as he took the girl’s hand. “Come on, we’ll get you to safety.” Zeke and I led the girl out of the cavity she was trapped in and Al-Zuras was there. He took the girl and led her out. “We’re going to see if there are others in here,” I said as Zeke and I went back. Al-Zuras nodded. “Be careful, the two of you,” he said. “We will,” Zeke said as he gave Al-Zuras a quick nod and we both ran back towards the inside of the cave. “Is anyone else in here? Hello? Anyone?” Zeke and I yelled as we ran through the cave. We didn’t hear any more cries for help but suddenly, we felt a giant heave and we found ourselves flying in the air. I landed with a _THUD!_ on the ground. I moaned as I tried to get back up, but my body failed me. _No, Mick,_ I told myself. _You are getting Zeke and yourself out of here. You are not giving up._

Just then, there was another rumble and Zeke and I watched in horror from the ground as a whole bunch of rocks came crashing down in front of us, trapping us in the cave. “No!” I cried as I pushed myself up from the ground. Zeke put his hand on my arm, leaning on me for support. “We’re digging ourselves out,” he panted. I looked at his face. He had several cuts and scrapes on his face, a giant cut on his cheek. He still was handsome as ever. But just then, the earth gave a giant shake and suddenly, I felt something hit my head. Something heavy. I felt myself being pulled down towards the earth, hitting the cold, hard ground of the cave. The last thing I felt was Zeke’s hand squeeze mine tightly and then, there was nothing as the world turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, the POV is going to change to Ben and Jared for a bit but it's not going to be in first person though.  
> Just thought I should let you know that before you start reading the next chapters :)


	12. Ben

It was past three in the afternoon. Ben was in the garage, trying to figure out what Michaela and Zeke’s shared Calling meant. He had studied the constellations Gemini, Pavo and Phoenix to figure out how they were connected. So far, he had no luck. But Ben couldn’t help a feeling of dread wash over him. Something just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t tell if it was intuition or a gut feeling, but he knew something wasn’t right.

Ben walked around the garage, pacing around. He just couldn’t make sense of the Calling. He had written every single detail down that Mick and Zeke had told him. But, he remembered the look of fear on their faces. _What could they possibly be afraid of?_ Ben thought as he paced around. The garage had slowly become a blur; Ben was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn’t feel the familiar feeling of a Calling hitting him.

_Ben found himself in the woods. He remembered driving through these woods with Grace when they were searching for Cal. But, he was in a different part of the woods. Where am I exactly? he asked himself as he kept walking around. That’s when he saw the cave. But he felt a feeling of dread sink in._ Something’s seriously wrong, _Ben thought as he started running towards the cave. He ran inside, seeing a light guiding him inside the cave._ Like a willo-'o-the-wisp, _he thought as he kept following the light. The light led him towards a giant cluster of rocks. Ben felt something shake and he put his hand on the cave wall to support himself. The shaking seemed to push away the giant rubble of rocks that was blocking his way. The shaking stopped and Ben walked cautiously towards where the rubble was. That’s when he saw them. “Oh, God,” Ben gasped as he stared at the bodies of his sister and brother in law. Zeke and Mick lay next to each other, their hands joined together. Mick had a giant gash on her head as did Zeke. Ben saw a giant rock laying towards the side where Mick and Zeke were lying._ I knew something was wrong, _Ben thought as he started to sink towards the ground, feeling sick._ They can’t be dead, _he thought as he crawled towards them. He reached out and touched Mick’s wrist, hoping to feel a pulse, something that could tell him that she was alive. But, his hand seemed to brush thin air instead of touching Mick’s skin. Ben reached over and touched Zeke and had the same result. Ben looked up and heard a loud screech and he saw the phoenix; on fire and next to the phoenix, was a beautiful white peacock, radiating a soft light that reflected across the cave. They gazed at the two bodies and flew out of the cave. Ben got off the ground and started to chase the two birds. “Wait!” he cried as he chased after them. But when he got out of the cave, they were gone._

Ben gasped as the Calling faded out. He was on the garage floor, on his knees. He tried to process what he just saw. “Mick and Zeke can’t be dead,” he said softly. “They have so much to live for. They can’t die.” Ben was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost didn’t hear footsteps behind him.

“Ben?” It was Grace. Ben turned around and looked at Grace. Grace noticed that something was bothering him. “Did you have a Calling?” He nodded. “It’s Mick and Zeke,” Ben said as he got off the floor. “I think they’re in danger.” Grace looked scared. “What do you mean, in danger?” she asked as she walked towards him. “I saw them in a cave. It seemed like they got stuck in a rockslide and I think a rock hit their heads, causing them to lose consciousness. But, there was something else..” Ben trailed off. Grace cocked her head, looking at her husband intently.

“What is it?”

“I saw a phoenix and a peacock in the cave. Grace, it felt so real, so vivid. I think I need to head to Tannersville. I’m going to call Jared and have him meet me up there. I can’t help but think something bad is going to happen.”

Grace took Ben’s hands in her own and looked at her husband. Ben always found he could rely on Grace for anything. She was his rock, his foundation. Grace took one of her hands and caressed his cheek. “You’re going to find them, Ben,” she whispered. He nodded. “I will.”

A couple hours later, Ben arrived in Tannersville. He had somewhat of a decent memory on where the woods were. After driving for some time around in the woods, he found Mick’s car. It had snowed recently, he had noticed and he found footprints. Ben followed the footprints until he reached the cave where he saw something bizarre. There was a whole bunch of people there, Ben guessed around ten to fifteen people. He suddenly heard a familiar voice call out his name. “Ben!” Ben looked in shock and amazement as he saw Fiona dashing towards him. Her face was filled with fear. “Fiona? What...what are you doing here?” Ben asked, unable to process what he was seeing. He looked at her clothes. She definitely wasn’t wearing 21st century clothing. “Where the hell have you been?” Ben asked. “Is Bill here too?” Fiona nodded. “Yes, but there’s no time to explain all of that right now. Michaela and her husband got trapped inside the cave. They rescued those kids, along with Captain Al-Zuras.” Ben looked at Fiona with shock. “Did you just say Al-Zuras?” Ben gasped. “Yes,” Fiona said matter of factly. “Yusuf Al-Zuras.” Ben turned around and tried to process what he just had heard and seen. _I’m standing in the middle of the woods, trying to figure out why my sister and my brother in law got themselves stuck in a cave and also why the hell are Daly and Fiona back and how did Al-Zuras end up in our time?_ Ben turned around and looked at Fiona. “Did you guys call for help?” he asked. Fiona shook her head. “No, Bill and I lost everything when the plane crashed into the ocean. I don’t have a cell phone. Neither do those kids.” “A cop friend of mine is coming,” Ben said as he pulled out his phone. “He knows what we need to do. We’re definitely going to need a search and rescue team to dig Mick and Zeke out.” Ben looked at the cave. _Please, please, please hold on,_ he begged. _I can’t lose the two of you._


	13. Jared

“So what’s the caseload like today, Vasquez?” Drea’s voice cut in on Jared’s thoughts. He turned around and saw Drea standing behind him. She gave him a long look. “If I seriously have to go to Bowers and complain that you can’t focus at your damn job because you look like a gazelle when you’re staring at Stone-Landon’s desk, I will. And also, I’ll have her move your desk as far away as possible so you can focus.” Jared sighed. He had to admit it, but she was right. When Mick wasn’t at work, Jared found himself staring at her empty desk, wishing that she was there. He did that for five and a half years. He was surprised that the previous captain didn’t move his desk while Mick was gone. Bowers somehow never got around to it either apparently. Jared knew that woman could put up a punch. “I can’t stop thinking about her, Drea,” he sighed as he tapped his fingers on his desk. “I’m not used to calling her ‘Detective Michaela Stone-Landon’. I don’t think I’ll ever.” Drea gave him a small smile. “I’m sure you’ll find someone just like her,” she said. Jared shook his head. “I don’t think I ever will.” Just then, Jared heard his phone ring. He grabbed his phone and was surprised to see that it was Ben. _Something’s up,_ he thought as he answered the phone.

“Ben? What’s up?”

“Jared. I think Mick and Zeke are in trouble. I had a Calling.”

“Where are they?”

“Tannersville. They went to figure out what the Calling they had meant. I think something happened to them. Can you come up?”

“Yeah. I’ll bring Drea too. We’ll meet you there in a few.”

Jared ended the call. “Mick and Zeke might be in danger,” Jared said to Drea as he grabbed his coat. “And you’re coming with.” Drea shrugged. “Okay then,” she said as she ran towards her desk and grabbed her coat. There was a bounciness, a playfulness about Drea that Jared admired. She was quick to learn and always wanted to learn something new. And she was easily trusted. Once Drea had grabbed her things, she and Jared let Bowers know about where they were going and headed off.

On the drive to Tannersville, Jared was quiet. Normally on drives like these, he would blare the music that he and Mick used to listen to at the academy. _Such old music,_ Jared thought as he drove along. But, today, he couldn’t listen to that playlist. In fact, he actually had stopped listening to that playlist because it only reminded him of Michaela. Instead, Jared had put on some soft jazz instead, to get his mind off things, but as hard as he tried, it didn’t work. Drea sensed his unease. “You okay?” she asked as she munched on some chips. “I’m fine,” Jared lied. Drea looked at him. “Vasquez. You’re not fine. Come on. Spit it out.” Jared sighed. “It’s just….I’ve almost lost her several times and I don’t want to relive that nightmare. Flight 828 was bad enough. But then…..” he trailed off. Even though he and Zeke had made amends, Jared couldn’t help but think that Zeke stole what was his: a life with Michaela. He forced himself to accept it, even if it meant he didn’t like it. “Jared, I know how much you love her, but it’s time you found somebody new. You can always care for her, but you have to respect her and Zeke now. They’re married. And I have never seen Michaela anymore happier.” _She’s right,_ Jared thought sadly. He had noticed that Mick was always so radiant when she was with Zeke. She was a lot happier than she was six and half years ago. But for her, that was only a year ago. A lot had happened in the course of a year. Jared sighed. _I have to let go,_ he told himself. Drea gave him a small pat on the arm. “I know you’ll find happiness, Jared,” she said. “Just give it a little bit of time.”

Following the directions that Ben had given him, Jared and Drea found Ben’s car parked next to Mick’s. Noticing the footprints, Jared and Drea followed them and after a short walk, Jared saw Ben. “Jared! Drea! Thank God you’re here,” Ben said as he ran towards them. “Did you find them?” Drea asked. “No, we are going to need a search and rescue team. They’re trapped deep in the cave,” Ben explained. Jared nodded. “I’ll call the local authorities to see what they can do.”

After waiting for fifteen minutes, the search and rescue team came along with an ambulance and a fire truck. The EMTs took care of the kids that had gotten stuck in the cave. Ben, Jared and Drea were asked to help with the search and rescue and for the first time, Jared noticed the strange group of people who were standing in the background. He looked at Ben. “Who are they? And why is their clothing so not 21st century?” “I’ll explain later,” he said. “Right now, we need to focus on getting Mick and Zeke out.” Following the instructions of the search and rescue crew, Ben, Jared and Drea headed inside the cave.

It was cold in the cave and Jared could feel a sense of dread wash over him as he, Ben and Drea followed the search and rescue team. They had been only walking for a bit when the cave started to get narrower and everyone was forced to walk in single file. “I found the rubble!” Jared heard one of the search and rescue members say. “Everyone come over here and start digging!” Jared, Ben and Drea and the rest of the search and rescue crew began to move the rocks and debris away. Jared put every ounce of strength as he moved each rock. _Please be alive, please be alive,_ he pleaded silently. After what seemed like forever, the rest of the rocks came tumbling down and cleared a path. Jared and the rest of the crew stepped gingerly over the rocks and that’s when Jared felt his heart sink as he, Ben and Drea gasped when they saw Zeke and Mick’s limp bodies on the ground. _Oh, God,_ Jared thought as he rushed towards Mick’s side. _You can’t be dead. You can’t!_


	14. Ben

Ben rushed towards Mick’s side and touched her wrist, feeling for a pulse. At first, there wasn’t one but he felt a faint flutter between his fingertips as he felt a faint pulse. _She’s alive,_ he thought. He then crawled towards Zeke’s side and touched his wrist and he felt a pulse. _Good, you’re both alive._ “They’re alive,” Ben said. He noticed relief wash over Jared’s face, but he knew that Mick and Zeke were seriously injured. The search and rescue team grabbed the stretchers that they had carried with them and put Zeke and Mick on them. When they tried to loosen their joined hands, however, the search and rescue team couldn’t do it. “We can’t move their hands,” one of the guys said. “How are we going to get them out of the cave? It’s too narrow.” Ben had an idea. “Why don’t we reposition their arms so they can still be holding hands while we carry them?” Ben bent down to the ground and carefully repositioned their arms so that they were still holding hands. He gestured for the search and rescue team to lift them up and carry them out of the cave.

Due to the extent of their injuries, Mick and Zeke were airlifted to Koch Hospital in New York to get treated. Which meant for Ben he had to deal with Al-Zuras and his crew. He couldn’t just leave them here by themselves. Talking with Jared and Drea, they agreed to take Al-Zuras and his crew to New York. Ben just didn’t realize how interesting things were going to get.

When Ben was first introduced to Al-Zuras by Fiona, he had stared at him with awe. Al-Zuras was the one whose journal gave Ben and the rest of the gang the information that they needed to solve the Death Date. Ben learned how Fiona and Daly had crashed into the ocean and Al-Zuras had found them and saved their lives. Of course, it was a very quick story and Fiona promised that she would tell Ben more in due course, but they had more urging matters on hand. Ben invited Al-Zuras and a couple of his men to join him in his car while Jared took a couple more of Al-Zuras’s men in Mick’s car and Drea took the rest of the crew in Jared’s car. When Al-Zuras saw Ben’s car, he looked extremely fascinated.

“What is that?”

“A car,” said Ben, dryly.

“What does it do?”

“It drives on land. Like a boat, but without water.”

“Ahh. A land boat.”

“Sure, I guess. You can call it that.”

“May I drive it?”

“No. You don’t have a driver's license and you’re from the fifteenth century or something. Last time I checked, cars..I mean land boats weren’t invented yet.” Ben pulled out his cell phone and called Grace. “What is that?” Al-Zuras asked. “A cell phone,” Ben said sarcastically. “We call people with them.” “So, you can talk to people when they’re hundreds of miles away? I sent messenger pigeons out at sea to deliver messages to people.” Al-Zuras then grabbed the phone from Ben’s hands and started to speak into it. “No! Hands off!” Ben snapped as he grabbed the phone back and put it back into his ear. _How many more questions am I going to have to put up with this guy?_

The ride back to New York was certainly the most wild ride of Ben Stone’s life. Al-Zuras thought it was a good idea to take the steering wheel and try to drive the “land boat” around. Ben and Al-Zuras fought over the wheel and it had to take one of Al-Zuras’s crew members wack sense into him. _I hope Jared and Drea don’t have it this bad…._ Ben thought.

When Ben finally got back to New York, he rushed to the hospital and he gave very very strict orders to Al-Zuras and his men to not touch anything and not say anything in the hospital. Ben found Jared and Drea and they both looked exhausted. “Don’t tell me they tried to drive the car did they?” Ben asked, sighing deeply. Jared nodded. “I threatened to taser them if they didn’t behave. I even pulled out the taser and zapped one of the guys with it. They got the memo.” Ben shook his head.

Changing the subject, he asked if he knew where Mick and Zeke were. “They’re in surgery,” Drea said as she played around with her coat. “It might take a few hours.” Ben heard his name being shouted across the hall and he saw Cal, Olive and Grace running towards him. “Oh my God Ben you’re back!” Grace cried. “I called Zeke’s parents and they’re on their way here. Your dad’s taking care of Eden at the moment. I’m so glad you found them.” Ben nodded.

After what seemed like a forever wait, the surgeon came out of the operating room. “We just finished the surgery,” he said as he wrung his hands together. “They’re in a recovery room right now but I don’t know when they’ll wake up. There was some very severe head trauma for both of them. But….there’s something else.” The surgeon stopped talking for a moment. He looked at Ben. “How long have those two been together?” he asked. “They met a year ago. They got married just a couple weeks ago,” Ben said, confused by what the surgeon was saying. “Why do you ask?’ The surgeon gave Ben a serious, but awe filled look. “I was told that when they were found, they were holding hands. We managed to let go of their hands but we realized that if their hands weren’t joined, their organs would begin to shut down. But, we joined their hands again and they became stable. I’ve never seen this in all my years of medicine, but if soulmates do exist, those two are a living definition of it. They’re keeping each other alive.” Ben stepped away, putting his hand over his brow as he tried to process what just happened. _Mick told me that Zeke is her strength and she is his,_ he thought as he thought about how much Zeke and Michaela loved each other. He realized just now how deep their love for each other truly was. _They are soulmates._ He sighed. He just hoped they could pull through.

But then, Ben felt a Calling wash over him like a tidal wave. He felt himself fall to the ground and that’s when he saw them again.

_The phoenix and the peacock were flying above Ben’s head as they illuminated the night sky with their light. But then, Ben heard the sound of cannons exploding and he was transported to New York’s harbor where he saw a giant armada. “What the hell?” Ben whispered as he saw the ships, hundreds upon hundreds of ships sailing into the harbor. The phoenix and the peacock dove towards the armada, screeching in fury. Ben saw the phoenix shoot a flaming ball of fire out of its beak as it dove towards the armada while the peacock shot out a bright flash of light. Ben then heard a voice scream in the distance “Save them!”_


	15. Ben

Ben snapped out of the Calling, a million thoughts racing through his mind. _An armada?_ he thought as he paced around the hallway. _Save them. That’s what Mick and Zeke have been hearing in their Calling but clearly, we haven’t figured out what that Calling really means._

Ben was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost didn’t feel the doctor touch his back. “Excuse me, but you are Ben Stone?” Ben nodded. “Yes,” he said as he turned around and faced the doctor. The doctor held a clipboard and tapped his pen against it. “Your sister and your brother in law are recovering on the top floor. It’s the more secluded floor for the ICU. I’m aware of the fact that Michaela Stone-Landon was on Flight 828 with you?” Ben nodded. “We thought it might be a good idea to give her and her husband some privacy, with all those crazy cult people following you around all the time.” “Of course. But, there have been less of those people these days. Can I go visit them?” The doctor nodded. “Yes, you may. But, I have no idea when they will wake up. It’s a wait and see situation.” The doctor gave the room number for Zeke and Michaela to Ben. Ben thanked the doctor and the doctor walked away. Ben went to Grace, Olive, Cal, Jared, Drea and Al-Zuras’s men. So far, the men were behaving themselves. “I’m going to visit them,” Ben told them. Jared started to get up but Ben had him sit down. “I’m going alone. I’m sorry Jared, but you have done your part and that was helping me find them. You look tired. You should probably go home and rest.” Ben knew Jared wasn’t going to like it. Jared sighed. “I just want to know that she’s safe,” he said, his voice breaking. “She’s in good hands. So is Zeke. Go home and get some rest. It’ll do you good.” Jared nodded and he left with Drea. Drea put her arm around his back and the two of them walked down the hallway together.

A couple minutes later, Ben arrived at Michaela and Zeke’s room. The room was a bit dark except for a lamp in the corner. Zeke and Michaela were in two separate hospital beds. There was a table in between their beds and their joined hands rested on that table. Zeke’s right hand held onto Michaela’s left hand. Ben noticed how her wedding ring glowed in the dim light. Ben remembered when Michaela had called them the night when she got engaged to Zeke. At first, Ben was surprised and a little bit hesitant about Michaela marrying Zeke that fast. But he knew that they loved each other and so Grace and the rest of the Stones went about planning the wedding of Zeke and Michaela’s dreams. Ben remembered the wedding so well. It was an extremely powerful and beautiful ceremony in which Zeke and Michaela professed from their hearts the love they had for one another. The vows were beautiful, but also very simple and true.

Ben remembered what the surgeon had told him about Michaela and Zeke being soulmates. _He is right,_ Ben thought as he grabbed a chair and sat down in front of the table. He touched both of their hands, hoping that they could feel his touch. He sighed. He knew when Michaela had gotten the _“Find Her”_ Calling all those months ago, he knew that they were leading her to someone. He remembered the moment when Zeke and Michaela first laid eyes upon each other. There was an instant connection, a bond between them. Zeke’s words echoed back in Ben’s head. _“It was like...you were giving me your strength, willing me to live.”_ Ben sighed. Zeke had come into Michaela’s life at the right time. In fact, they both needed each other at that time. They could understand the Callings, and Michaela had told Ben about Chloe and how Zeke felt the same way as she did about Evie. Ben could never understand that type of pain, but he was glad that Michaela had found someone who could. Over the past several months, Ben noticed how much Zeke and Michaela cared for each other. They would do anything for each other. Ben smiled. _They are each other’s strength,_ he thought as he rubbed his fingers over their joined hands. The love that Zeke and Michaela had for one another was a deep, pure and beautiful love. _I need you to fight,_ he begged silently. _You two have so much to live for; have a family, live somewhat of a normal life. Please live._

When Ben returned to the lobby, he found Grace talking with a girl from Al-Zuras’s crew. He noticed that there was something oddly familiar about her. Grace looked up and smiled when she saw Ben. “Hey,” Grace said as she came towards Ben and gave him a quick kiss. “How were they?” Ben gave her a sad smile. “They’re peaceful,” he said quietly. “I have to admit it, but those two are soulmates. They are each other’s strength.” Grace nodded. Ben noticed the girl come towards them. He got a good look at her now and he noticed how eerily similar she was to Zeke. She had dark brown hair and light hazel eyes. “I’m Ben,” he said as he extended his hand out for a greeting. She nodded and took his hand and shook it. “I’m Chloe,” she said. “Chloe Landon. I’m Zeke’s sister.” Ben looked at Grace with shock. “Chloe? But..but I thought you died,” said Ben as he tried to figure out what she meant. She nodded. “It’s a little hard to explain what happened to me, but the short answer is that something drew me to the ravine that day, and I was standing a little too close to the edge and I felt something pull me down. I fell into some sort of time portal or something and I landed in Al-Zuras’s time. He and his men saved my life.” “But, there was a body, right? Your parents had to bury you.” Chloe nodded, knowing where Ben was getting to. “I saw it appear when I fell down the ravine,” she said as she played around with her dress. “I later saw a vision of people making my fake body; it was a dummy with cotton and all. It looked extremely real, and no, I don’t know who made it or why.” Chloe added the last bit as she noticed that Ben was about to ask her if she knew who made the fake body.

Just then, Ben heard someone call his name and he saw Zeke’s parents running towards him. They stopped half way in their tracks when they saw Chloe. “Hey Mom, hey Dad,” Chloe said as she walked towards her parents. Priscilla looked at her daughter like she was seeing a ghost. “Chloe? How...how is it possible that you’re here?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion as she walked towards her daughter. Chloe’s father, Gordon dashed to Chloe’s side and embraced her, crying tears of happiness. Ben turned towards Grace and gave her a nod, telling her that they should give the Landon’s some space to reunite.

Later that night, as Ben laid awake in his bed, Grace sleeping peacefully at his side, he felt the all too familiar feeling of a Calling about to hit. He took a deep breath and let the Calling wash over him.

_Ben found himself back at New York’s harbor, seeing the vast armada sailing into the harbor. The scene changed slightly as he noticed something very strange and very odd. There, in the middle of the battle, were no other than Zeke and Michaela, standing their ground as a man, waving a giant sword, came at them, yelling bloody murder at them. But, the strange thing about Michaela and Zeke was that they didn’t flinch, they just somehow stayed still. And that’s when Ben saw something flash above the sky and he heard the screech of the phoenix and the peacock. A roll of thunder sounded across the harbor and Ben felt something cold trickle down his spine._ What the hell is going on? Is...is the end?


	16. Michaela

For a moment, there was nothing. I could feel nothing, hear nothing, see nothing; there was absolutely nothing. But then, I felt something familiar. Something soft, and gentle touched me. The feeling only grew stronger and stronger and I realized what it was now. It was Zeke’s fingers, stroking over my wedding ring. It was a habit of his, something that he did when he knew when something was bothering me. I remembered the story of how he had gotten my ring. After he and his dad had their talk on the beach, Zeke told him that he wanted to marry me. Zeke’s dad took him to his apartment and gave Zeke the wedding rings that belonged to his grandparents. They were simple, but beautiful rings and they were just right for us. Zeke and I liked to keep things simple.

I slowly started to gain my sense of hearing back, but my ears were ringing and then I felt the searing pain in my head. “Ugghh,” I moaned as I started to slowly move my body, which was slowly regaining feeling. I regretted that. The pain I felt from my head had somehow begun to spread all over. “Mick?” I heard Zeke’s voice. It was so near, but yet so far. “Zeke,” I breathed as I strained to open my eyes. I winced as I felt the light burst into my vision and I immediately closed them and then reopened them slowly. I turned to face Zeke. He looked at me, those gentle hazel eyes gazing into my eyes. “Hi,” I croaked. He gave me a weak smile. “Hey,” he said as he slowly pushed himself closer to my side, not letting go of my hand. With his other hand, he put it on my cheek, and we just lay there, not saying a word. We remembered what had happened to us and I could still feel the intense pressure and pain from the giant rock that hit my head. “Are you okay?” he whispered. “No,” I said as I winced at the sensation that was coming back to my body. “My body hurts.” Zeke nodded. “Mine too.” I looked around at our surroundings. Panic hit me instantly. “Zeke, we’re not in the cave,” I gasped, and immediately regretted that as I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my stomach. “Ow,” I moaned. Zeke pushed himself closer to my side. “What do you mean, we’re not in the cave?” I sighed as I laid my head back on the ground. “Look,” I said, slowly raising my arm and pointed above us. “We’re somewhere else.”

Zeke and I were in a very vast room with a high, dome like ceiling. The walls and the ceiling were made out of jade and it gave off a soft, gentle glow. The floor was made out a mixture of jade and marable, with little bits of mica for added shininess. “Where the hell are we?” Zeke asked. “We can’t be...be dead? Are we?” I groaned. “You’re not dead,” a new voice cut in. “In fact, you’re very much alive, but there is much for you to see and do.” We saw a beautiful woman wearing a long white dress, along with a very long cape stand above us. She had long beautiful ash blonde hair and gentle gray eyes. She had a beautiful smile on her face. “Welcome to the In Between,” the woman said. “We have been waiting for you for an aeon.” “What’s an aeon?” I asked. “Sorry. You don’t speak Latin. Aeon is the Latin word for eon.” The woman crouched down to our level and waved her hands around. Out of her hands materialized two cups of what I thought was water. “Drink this,” she said gently. “It will renew your strength.” Zeke and I slowly raised each other up and we took the cups from the woman and drank deeply. It was a sweet, refreshing drink. Instantly, I felt strength come back to me. I moaned slightly. Zeke grasped my hand a bit tighter. “Take it easy, Mick,” he said gently. I nodded. After recovering for a few moments, the woman gestured to us to follow her. We slowly rose from the ground and followed her.

“So, who exactly are you?” asked Zeke as we walked hand in hand, following the strange woman. She turned around. “That is not relevant right now,” she said sternly. “You will find out in due course, but for now, you must wait.” I felt Zeke tense his grip on my hand. I could tell he was just as confused as I was. “The two of you were destined to be together since the beginning of time,” said the strange woman. She had an air of grace as she walked. “What do you mean, destined?” I asked. “The stars were aligned, you could say.” I instantly remembered Gemini. “Gemini,” I said out loud. “The petrograph.” The woman nodded. “We knew what we had created was something beyond like we had never seen. And it has been our pleasure to watch this relationship blossom and grow.” Realization struck me. Zeke had sensed it too. “Are you saying….” I trailed off, trying to think how to word my thoughts. “Are you saying that you are the Callings?” The woman gave me a small smile. “Come, and you will see who you truly are.”

The woman led us to a room with a giant pool. There were hundreds of other figures like her, dressed in white robes. The woman smiled at the rest of the figures. “My fellow friends,” she announced, her voice filled with joy. “The Phoenix and the Peacock have come. We have waited for this moment for an aeon. And now, they are here at last. Let us rejoice!” The rest of the white cladded figures gave a hearty cry and there was a thundering applause. Zeke and I looked at each other as we finally realized what the Calling really meant. “We’re the Phoenix and the Peacock,” I whispered. _But, why?_


	17. Zeke

_What the hell is she talking about? Mick and I are the Phoenix and the Peacock? And we were destined for an eon?_ I thought to myself as I tried to process what just happened in the span of a minute. I was never more confused in my life, except save for the time when I found out that I went missing for a year. I looked at Mick. She was confused as well, but also curious. I was too, but I had doubts. Mick sensed my uneasiness. So did the strange woman wearing white. She turned to me and gave me a small smile. “You are the Phoenix,” she said to me. Then she turned to Mick. “And you are the Peacock.” “But why?” I asked, trying to make sense of everything. “The moment when we saw the stars align and saw the two of you, how you complete each other we knew that we had made the right choice. You are to save the world.” _Okay, this is crazy_ , I thought as I slowly started to walk away but Mick pulled me back. That woman was always insistent and stubborn. I sighed. I turned and faced the strange woman. “Can you excuse us for a moment?” I asked. She nodded and I pulled Mick aside.

“Look,” I started, trying to figure out how to put this in the best possible way without sounding like an idiot. “I’m just as confused as you are, but this is seriously what the Calling brought us here to do?” Mick shrugged. “I don’t know, Zeke,” Mick said as she took both of my hands in hers and stroked them gently. “We both saw the Phoenix and the Peacock, and when we saw the Calling of us lying in the cave, I knew that meant something but I didn’t understand it until now.” Mick gave me a small smile. “I always knew that there was something about us, Zeke,” Mick said as she rubbed her thumbs over mine. “Remember what I told you at the cabin?” I nodded. _“Zeke, somehow, we’re the same,”_ Mick’s words came back to me. And she was right. We had a connection that was unlike any other and when she told me that the petrograph symbolized us, I believed her. But, this? I couldn’t grasp it. “Mick,” I started. “I’m not sure what to believe.” She nodded. “I know, but they might have answers for us, they might explain why we must save the world. Trust me on this.” I had to admit, but she was right. I trusted Mick with everything. “Okay, we’ll see what they have to say.” I gave her a small smile. She squeezed my hands gently, assuring me that it was going to be okay.

We walked over to the woman and the other white cladded figures. “Right, so what do we have to do?” I asked. The woman smiled. “Well first, you should know what your current situation is,” she said as she led Mick and I to the pool. When we got to the pool, the woman took a pitcher that was there on the edge and she filled it with water. She said something that I swear that was in Latin and she dumped the water back into the pool. That’s when the pool started to change.

Mick and I gazed at the pool as we suddenly saw moving images in the water. We first saw the rock that hit our heads and knocked us unconsciousness. I noticed how I grasped tightly on Mick’s hand, not wanting to let her go.

The scene changed to Ben, Jared and Drea and what looked like a search and rescue team discovering our bodies. I felt Mick squeeze my hand. I noticed how Ben swooped down like a hawk to check our pulses while Jared looked at Mick with sad eyes. _Part of him will always love her,_ I thought. _But, he has to move on._ We both noticed how the search and rescue team kept our hands joined together as they took us out of the cave.

The scene changed once more. We saw Ben talking to the surgeon and could hear his words. _“I’ve never seen this in all my years of medicine, but if soulmates do exist, those two are a living definition of it. They’re keeping each other alive.”_ I looked at Mick, gazing deep into those beautiful blue eyes. _She really is my soulmate,_ I thought as I squeezed her hand back.

We then saw our hospital room. It was dark, save for a lamp that was on in a corner. We were in two separate beds, with tubes hooked up to our bodies. But, our hands. They were joined together on a little table. I noticed how Mick’s wedding ring shone in the dim light and I smiled at the thought of that. I saw Ben sitting in front of the table, his hand touching ours. I felt comforted by the fact that my brother in law really cared for the two of us. Ben was pretty much the head of the passengers of Flight 828; people went to him when they needed help with a Calling, like how TJ reached out to Ben all those months ago. And now, TJ was part of the Stone family; they had welcomed him with open arms. I chuckled to myself. I admired TJ and Olive’s relationship and I wouldn’t be surprised if those two got married sometime in the future.

But then, my thoughts were interrupted when the scene once again changed in the pool. And it was different. We saw New York, and the harbor. But, there was something really strange about the harbor. “Oh my God, Zeke,” Mick whispered. “It’s an armada.” Hundreds upon hundreds of boats sailed into the harbor. When the boats had landed, we saw what looked like pirates coming off the ship. There was one pirate in particular that I guessed was the leader and that’s when it hit me. “Mick,” I gasped. “It’s Al-Zuras’s treacherous first mate, Ibrahim. He’s here for vengeance. He somehow figured where Al-Zuras was and he’s going to kill him. But he and his crew are terribly outnumbered. How are they going to stop this?” That’s when we saw the Phoenix and Peacock soar through the sky, raining down fire and light. But when they landed, they started to transform. Mick and I gasped as we saw the Phoenix and the Peacock changed into us. That’s when it hit us. “Save them,” Mick said, looking at me, her blue eyes wide with fear. “The Calling wasn’t just about those kids, or Al-Zuras. It’s about New York. And we are the only ones who can stop it.”


	18. Ben

Ben awoke to the sound of pans banging in the kitchen. He knew what was going on and he instantly regretted inviting Al-Zuras and his crew to stay at his house. but, he knew that he couldn't leave them on their own. _And now they are going to pillage the kitchen,_ Ben thought miserably to himself. Grace was still sound asleep next to him. Ben rolled out of bed and went to check on Eden in the nursery. She was asleep too. Ben peeked in Cal’s room to see if he was still asleep and he was. He guessed that Olive was still asleep in the basement so he didn’t bother to check on her. He went down to the kitchen to see what had happened to the kitchen.

When he got down there, Al-Zuras and his men were digging stuff out of the fridge. One of his men lifted a bag of coffee above his head and yelled “They got coffee!!” A hearty cheer went up from the whole crew. Ben surveyed the kitchen. There were vegetables everywhere on the floor, cereal spilled on the counter and eggs cracked on the floor. One of Al-Zuras’s men was extremely fascinated by the stove and kept clicking it on and off the stove and oohing and ahhing when the flame was turned on. _So this is what its like when people who have never been to the 21st century react when they see all the equipment in a kitchen…_ Ben thought as he walked over to Al-Zuras. “Ummm, what are you doing?” Ben asked Al-Zuras. “Eating breakfast?” he said, cocking his head to one side. Ben sighed. “Eating breakfast doesn’t usually involve pillaging a kitchen,” Ben muttered. “Thank God you haven’t burned the house down yet.” Ben clapped his hands together. “Okay, okay, okay, okay!” he yelled. The crew stopped talking and pillaging. “If you are staying here, you need to act civilized. Pillaging the kitchen at six in the morning isn’t very civilized, is it?” The crew were silent. “We were curious,” one of the crew members said shyly. “There’s all this cool stuff here and….” he trailed off as he noticed Grace walking down the stairs, looking extremely shocked.

“Ben, what the hell happened here?” she gasped. Ben sighed. “Al-Zuras thought it was a good idea to pillage the kitchen,” he said as he gestured towards the messy kitchen. Grace walked towards Al-Zuras. “Look, all this stuff is really new to you,” she started, her body shaking at the anger and shock that was going through her. “But, you have to understand that some of this stuff can be extremely dangerous if it isn’t used properly. If you would like, I can show you how to cook. Pillaging the kitchen is never a good idea and I don't want food to go to waste. Can you help me clean it up?” Al-Zuras nodded. “Yes,” he nodded as he turned to his crew. “Men, we got work to do.” The men all groaned and nodded.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Ben and Grace showed Al-Zuras and his men how to use the stove, the oven and the coffee maker. The crew was extremely fascinated by running water and by the dishwasher. Grace taught the crew how to cook eggs and bacon and they all sat around the table, talking about how good the food was and how fascinating 21st century technology was. “So, the thing you use to wash the dishes is called a ‘dishwasher?’” asked Al-Zuras. Grace nodded. Ben had told her how Al-Zuras called a car a “land boat” and she had giggled at that. Ben heard footsteps and saw Olive and Cal walk into the kitchen. “Morning you two,” said Ben as Olive and Cal waved at the crew. “Sleep well?” Olive nodded. “Hope there’s more coffee,” Olive mumbled as she went to the cupboard and looked for a bag of coffee that she could use to make her French press with. “Hey Dad,” Olive said as she dug through the cupboard. “Is there more coffee?” Ben sighed. Al-Zuras and his men had drunk the last of the coffee. “Sorry, Ollie,” Ben said apologetically, “but Al-Zuras and his men drank it.” Olive scowled. “You should’ve told them that there are other people in this house who love their coffee. There better be tea in here.” Ben sighed. Olive loved her coffee. Tea was a last resort for her. _Al-Zuras and his men love their coffee a little too much,_ he thought.

After breakfast, Ben asked Al-Zuras to join him in the garage. Ben had to tell him about the Calling he had about the armada and how he was afraid. Grace had Al-Zuras’s crew help clean the rest of the house up and Ben could only imagine their reaction of what a vacuum was. _They are going to be so fascinated by everything at this rate,_ he thought. He was glad that Chloe didn’t stay with them; her parents took her home with them but she would join them later on in the day. Ben thought that Chloe should take a break from Al-Zuras and his crew for a bit and spend time with her parents who he bet were over the moon and elated that she was alive.

Ben cleared his throat. “I had a Calling,” he said. Al-Zuras looked at him. “What happened in it?” he asked. “I saw what looked like an armada sailing into New York harbor. Hundreds and hundreds of boats.” Al-Zuras’s face went white. “No,” he whispered.

“What is it?”

“He’s found me. Ibrahim is here to kill me.”

“Who’s Ibrahim?”

“My treacherous former first mate. He said that the Callings couldn’t control him so he left with those who believed in him and he said that one day he will find me and kill me.”

Ben looked at Al-Zuras, feeling a sickening feeling wash over him. “So this is what the Calling was telling us about. It’s about Ibrahim. And he’s not just going after you, he’s going to destroy New York if we don’t stop him.”


	19. Michaela

For a moment, I felt the world stopped moving. I just stood there, trying to grasp what I just saw. _New York under attack by an armada of all things._ And Zeke and I were the only ones who could stop Ibrahim from destroying our home. I was brought back to reality when I felt Zeke squeeze my hand gently. I looked at him and I knew what he was thinking too.

“You know we have to do this,” I said softly

.

“I know. But, we’re outnumbered.”

“We both saw what happened in that vision. The Phoenix and the Peacock is about us.”

“Yes. But….”

I took Zeke’s hands in my own. “We are doing this together. It’s our destiny. This is why the Callings brought us together. So we can become who we truly are.”

“I will fight beside you. Always and forever.”

I smiled at Zeke. “I knew you’d say that,” I whispered. “And I will always stand beside you too.”

“Are you about to repeat your wedding vows to me again?”

“Maybe,” I laughed. Then I got serious. “I will never leave your side. We’re doing this together.”

Zeke squeezed my hands again and we turned and faced the woman and the rest of the white cladded figures. “We’re ready,” Zeke said. “We will fight,” I added. The woman smiled. “I knew you would say that. Step forward you two.”

Zeke and I walked over to the woman. She raised her hands and out of her right hand came a flash of light and out of her left hand, a flame of fire. She chanted something which I assume was in Latin. She then extended her hands and shot out the flash of light and the flame of fire. The two elements came towards Zeke and I and we didn’t flinch as the two elements circled around us. It felt so...peaceful and assuring. Like I was made for it or something. I felt a sensation that I had never felt before. I felt a new strength wash over me and I let it envelop me. I felt so light and so delicate, yet strong.

I felt myself transform into the Peacock and I turned around and Zeke was already transformed into the Phoenix. Suddenly I felt something in my mind start to buzz and that’s when I heard Zeke’s voice speaking to me in my head.

_Mick! Wow, you look stunning._

If peacocks could blush, I’d certainly be doing that right now. I felt a warmth spread through me.

_Thanks. You look majestic,_ I told him.

He ruffled his feathers and sparks flew off of them.

_You want to fly?_ he asked me.

I nodded. _Hell yeah. Let’s go save New York._

With that, Zeke and I flew off from the ground and soared upwards into the sky, heading towards the harbor to stop Ibrahim from taking our home.

*****************************************************************************

There was a loud commotion on the top level at the hospital. A nurse went to go check on what could possibly be making such a loud sound. She found herself standing right outside the doorway of the hospital bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Stone-Landon. They had been in here for about a day now. The nurse swore she heard something coming from their room so she opened the door and to her surprise, Mr. and Mrs. Stone-Landon were gone. The nurse looked at the big, gaping hole on the ceiling. Part of the ceiling was smoldering and she could see faint embers. _What the hell just happened?_


	20. Jared

Jared and Drea were watching TV together. Jared asked Drea if she could come over and hang out with him. At first, she seemed surprised but she agreed. She knew Jared needed someone that he could talk to about what had happened to Michaela. Drea was worried about her partner too. Drea had always looked up to Michaela and she was overjoyed to learn that she was going to be her new partner. Drea knew about Jared and Michaela’s long and complicated history and when Michaela learned that Drea was becoming her new partner, she was at first hesitant but then she realized that she needed a fresh break. And Drea was young, trustworthy and inquisitive. She was always ready to learn new things and she was a fast learner. And she was also distracting. Drea had chosen to watch some old cop show and Jared let her control the TV. He had made some popcorn and the two of them ate it on the couch. “Did you and Michaela watch old cop shows when you were dating?” Drea asked. “Not really,” Jared said as he chewed on some popcorn. “We went out for Italian. Mick loves Italian.” The thought of Mick made Jared tear up. “I don’t want her to die,” he whispered. Drea pulled him close to her side and he leaned his head against her shoulder. “She’s young,” Drea said. “I’m sure she’ll make it. Zeke too.” Jared sighed. _Yeah and Zeke too,_ he thought miserably to himself. Jared had to remind himself that Zeke was also in the same situation as Mick and that they were both fighting for their lives together.

Jared knew that a lot had happened between him and Michaela in the last year. Michaela found Zeke and brought him back to New York and let him stay in her apartment, something that Jared didn’t approve of. His disapproval of Zeke became more and more evident as he was convinced that there was something about Zeke that he didn’t like. Later on, Jared had run Zeke’s prints in the database after Michaela had released Zeke from the precinct to convince her that Zeke was a junkie. He failed to convince her then and even when he showed her the picture of Zeke in the alleyway. Jared knew he had to take matters into his own hands so he confronted Zeke at Michaela’s apartment, which only led to her getting shot at and Zeke fleeing the crime scene, which Jared later learned that Michaela told Zeke to run. It only got worse from there when Michaela decided to free Zeke from prison and then throw Jared under the bus in open court, exposing his actions. Jared could’ve just severed ties with her right and then. But when he found himself at a bar he had no idea that right there and then, he could help the passengers of Flight 828 by taking down the Xers. For months on end, Jared had kept his undercover mission a secret from Michaela and he was shocked to learn that she actually believed that he had joined the Xers. But finally, they were friends again after he saved Zeke’s life from the Xers. He knew that she had chosen Zeke over him and she would continue to do so. He finally realized how deep Michaela’s love really was for Zeke and Jared knew that it was time to find someone else. He looked at Drea. He always had admired her and her bounciness and her playfulness made Drea the sweet, bubbly person that she was.

Just then, Jared’s thoughts were interrupted when the TV show they were watching was interrupted by a news report.

“Breaking news,” the news announcer said on the TV. “There has been a sighting of what looks like an armada sailing into New York harbor.”

The image on the TV changed to New York harbor and the armada sailed into the harbor. Jared looked at Drea. “What the hell?” Drea whispered. Jared grabbed the remote and turned the volume up. A news reporter was standing right by the harbor.

“As you can see right behind me,” he pointed out with his hand, “there seems to be an armada of ships sailing into the New York harbor. There seems to be over 500 ships from the info we got from our news team right above us in the helicopter.”

But, just then, there was a loud shree that sounded from the TV. Jared and Drea looked at the TV and saw two birds flying towards the armada. One was on fire and the other one was glowing. _She was right,_ Jared thought as he remembered what Michaela had told him about the Calling. But, to Jared and Drea’s amazement and disbelief, they saw the two birds land on the ground and transform into Zeke and Michaela. “Holy shit,” Jared whispered. “What?” asked Drea. “That’s what the Phoenix and the Peacock represent. It’s Zeke and Mick. And they’re going to take down that armada by themselves.”


	21. Zeke

This is what went through my mind as I flew over New York with Mick

:

_Oh my God. I’m a Phoenix._

_And I’m flying._

_I’m on fire and it doesn’t hurt._

_And my wife is a Peacock._

_And we are about to take down an armada by ourselves._

_What the hell is going on?_

_Oh my God, Mick! You almost flew into a window!_

The last bit I addressed to Mick as she almost flew into a window. She looked at me like I was crazy. _Zeke I saw it and I avoided it,_ she muttered through our telepathic communication. I sighed. The sensation of flying seemed so….natural. Like I was born for it. We flew around Queens and then made our way through Manhattan and towards the harbor. I looked at Mick. She was so graceful, so beautiful as she flew beside me. Her white feathers shimmered in the golden hour light as she flew. She flew towards the ground as we made our way through Times Square, flying past the jumbotrons and billboards that lit up around us.

When Mick and I reached the harbor, we stopped and flew in place for a moment, taking in our surroundings. _We’re outnumbered,_ I said to Mick as we gazed at the armada. _But, we can fight this together,_ she said. I nodded. _We can and we will._ I was glad that Mick was by my side, fighting beside me. She was always there, ready to give her support whenever it was needed. We looked at the harbor. _That’s a whole lotta ships,_ I said. She nodded. _It’s an armada, Zeke,_ she said as she ruffled herself. _They’re supposed to be huge. And if we got super powers, that’ll come to our advantage._ _Damn. I had forgotten about that part._ Mick laughed. _Let’s use them, shall we?_ I let out a shree and so did Mick and we dove towards the armada.

Being a Phoenix was really amazing, I had to say. I was literally on fire and it didn’t even hurt. Mick was a flying ball of light as she dove towards the ground. _She is my light,_ I thought. She led me out of the darkness I had trapped myself into and led me towards the light. Her kindness, gentleness and her compassion led me out of that darkness that had claimed me for years. And now, here she was, a literal ray of light shining next to me.

As we got closer to the ground, we saw men coming out of the boats, with swords on their belts. I looked at Mick. _More time travelers I guess,_ I said as I gestured towards their clothes. Mick agreed. _I think I see Ibrahim. He’s the one wearing the red pirate hat with a feather on it._ I saw who Mick was pointing to. He was a stocky man, definitely the stereotypical looking pirate. _He looks like a pirate, he’s just missing the parrot, the club leg and the eye patch. Oh, the skull and crossbones flag,_ I said to Mick. She snorted. _Okay, we should head down there._

Mick and I landed on the ground in front of Ibrahim. We felt ourselves transform back to our human selves and we noticed that we were wearing different clothes. Mick wore a beautiful white dress with a long white cape that had the peacock feather pattern sewn on to it. On her waist, she had a belt with a long dagger. _No one better mess with my wife,_ I thought. I knew what Mick was capable of; she was a cop after all. She looked at me and grinned. “You look impressive,” she said slyly. I looked down at my outfit. I wore an orange shirt that seemed to shimmer in the late afternoon sun. I wore faded orange leather pants and wore soft leather brown boots on my feet. I also wore a cape and I had a long sword as well on my belt on my waist. I heard Mick gasp. “What?” I asked her. “Your cape is on fire,” she said. I touched the cape and I was surprised and relieved that I didn’t burn my fingers. “Your cape is glowing. And by the way, you look absolutely beautiful.” I told Mick. She blushed. We were then interrupted by Ibrahim.

“So. You are the ones that Yusuf was telling me about,” he said, his voice icy. I nodded. “We are,” I said evenly. “What is your business here?” Ibrahim looked at me. “To kill Yusuf Al-Zuras and to prove to the world that the Voice is nothing but a liar. We don’t need to listen to the Voice.” Mick spoke. “The Callings or the Voice or whatever you want to call it does good,” she said to Ibrahim, trying to reach him. Ibrahim shook his head. “It only confuses us. It leads us away from reality and onto a path of disaster.” I looked at Mick. “That’s if you don’t follow the Callings,” I said. “If you don’t follow them, bad things will happen.” Ibrahim laughed evilly. “They don’t control me and my mighty armada.” He paused, and turned around to face his crew. “Men!” he yelled. “Attack!”


	22. Ben

Ben was in the living room, working on grading homework when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. It was Jared. Ben answered the phone.

“Jared. What’s up?”

“Ben, turn on the TV.”

Ben found the remote and turned the TV on. Al-Zuras and his crew were in the living room, playing Monopoly with Cal. When the crew heard the sound of the TV, they all looked up from the game and ooohed and ahhed at the TV. “What is that?” asked one of Al-Zuras’s men. Cal rolled his eyes. “It’s called a TV. Short for television. We use it to watch movies and TV shows and the news,” he explained. One of Al-Zuras’s men crawled towards the TV and put his hands on it and just stared at it like a lovesick puppy. “It’s alive,” he said. “Hello? Can you hear me?” The crew member knocked on the screen to see if the person on the TV could hear him. Cal laughed. “It’s not alive,” he said as he pushed the crew member back. “It’s connected to wires and what not. It’s not alive on its own. But, I think Dad’s trying to watch something and we should listen.” The crew member nodded and went to sit back with the rest of the crew. “The box of light and noise,” Al-Zuras murmured to himself. “So far, I’ve learned about land boats, the loud sucker thing of death that you use to clean things with and now the box of light and noise.” Ben overheard everything and sighed. Al-Zuras could never call a car a car, a vacuum cleaner a vacuum cleaner and a TV a TV. He always had to be so literal with everything. Ben noticed on the TV that there was a breaking news report and that’s when he saw the armada. “Al-Zuras,” said Ben as he gestured towards the TV. “Is that Ibrahim?” Al-Zuras peered closer and gasped. “Aye,” he said. “That’s him. And looks like he brought all his old friends with him too.”

“Old friends?”

“Yes. He used to be a pirate. But then he had a change of heart but I guess he went back to his old pirating ways and got his friends to join him.”

Ben nodded and then picked up the phone again to talk to Jared.

“Jared, I’ll meet you down at the harbor in fifteen,” Ben said as he got up from the couch.

“Okay, see you soon.”

Cal looked up at Ben. “Can I come too?” he asked. Ben shook his head. “No, sorry buddy,” Ben said sadly. “You can hang out with Olive. Al-Zuras and his crew are coming with me.” Cal sighed. “Okay,” he said as he went back to playing Monopoly. “Is Chloe going too?” Ben glanced at Chloe. She had come over to the Stone’s house a few hours ago and she had tried to explain modern conveniences to the crew but she failed to explain to them in a way they could understand. But, Chloe was learning about new technology as well. She was extremely fascinated by Alexa, as was the rest of the crew. They had asked Alexa all sorts of questions even the ones that were not so appropriate. Chloe had laughed at that. “I’m used to it,” she told Ben and Grace. “They’re sailors after all.” Chloe was also an expert scout and she was a dead shot with her sling. She also had experience with a dagger and Ben didn’t see a reason why Chloe should go with them. “Of course Chloe is coming,” Ben told Cal. “She can fight you know.” Chloe looked at Ben and nodded. “Ibrahim is a cunning man,” she said. “I never really liked him and I’d like to teach him a lesson or two.” All the crew had gotten their supplies that they needed and they headed off to the harbor.

The one thing that Ben couldn’t stand about Al-Zuras was how insanely distracted he was by everything. When they got to the subway station, that’s where things got interesting. There was a street musician playing the saxophone. “What’s that thing? A giant horn?” asked Al-Zuras. “No, that is a saxophone,” said Ben as he gritted his teeth with frustration. “It’s a type of woodwind.” Ben wasn’t even going to bother to explain musical instruments to him. “What are they throwing in that box thing?” one of the other crew members asked. “Money,” said Chloe as she pushed her hair back. “He’s collecting money for himself.” Ben sighed in relief. _Thank God for Chloe,_ he thought to himself. He turned to the crew. “Ok, listen up and pay very close attention. We are about to take the subway, which is a train, and we are going to ride the subway until you hear on the intercom that we have reached the harbor. We will get off there and you must stay close to each other because New York is a very big city and you can get lost easily. Understood?” “Aye aye!” the crew said. “Good, because here comes the train.” The subway sounded its horn and Al-Zuras and his men looked in awe and horror as the subway came to a screeching halt. “A silver snake,” whispered Al-Zuras. “Does it bite? Is it poisonous?” Chloe sighed. “Come on sharkheads,” she said as she walked backwards towards the train with her arms out. “It's a train. It’s not going to hurt you.” Ben and Al-Zuras and the rest of the crew followed suit after Chloe.

When they got to the harbor, they noticed people were screaming and running away. Ben saw Jared and Drea waiting for them. “Thank God you’re here,” Drea said as she gave Ben a quick hug. “That armada is huge.” Suddenly, there was a loud shree from above the sky. Ben and everyone else looked up and Ben gasped. “It’s the Phoenix and the Peacock,” he whispered. But, to Ben’s amazement, the two birds flew towards them and landed on the ground. They started to change form and Ben found himself staring at his sister and his brother in law. “Mick? Zeke? What the hell is going on?” he asked them. “We’re the Phoenix and the Peacock,” said Mick as she pushed some of her hair back. “This is what the Calling was warning us about,” Zeke added. “We needed to be at the cave so we could become who we were truly meant to be.” Ben looked at Mick and Zeke’s new clothing. “Your outfits are umm..fashionable,” Ben said. “Um….thanks?” Mick said as she cocked her head. “And we got swords, so you better watch out,” Zeke warned. “We’ve already wounded some of Ibrahim’s men but I see that Al-Zuras brought help. Come on, we need to get back to work.” Mick and Zeke transformed back into their bird forms and flew off. Ben looked at them as they flew towards the harbor, shooting balls of flame and light at the armada. Ben turned and noticed Jared and Drea calling for backup and Al-Zuras and his men were talking about their plan of attack. After giving a hearty cry, the crew dashed off, with swords raised above their heads, joining the fight. _I hope this ends well,_ Ben thought as he looked at the harbor. _Save them please._


	23. Michaela

After Zeke and I had talked to Ben, we turned back into our Phoenix and Peacock forms. Being the Peacock felt so right to me somehow. I just knew that this was what I had to do. I glanced at Zeke as he flew beside me. _So strong, so brave and so true,_ I thought to myself. The two of us headed towards the harbor where we knew what we had to do: destroy the ships. With our powers combined, we could destroy the armada. I let out a shree and dove towards the ships, letting the air flow through my feathers. Zeke shreeed behind me and he raced ahead of me.

Zeke and I had learned just by experience how to fly, how to maneuver through tight spaces and how to use our gifts. Zeke threw a flaming ball of fire at a ship and it hit the middle of the ship, causing the fire to spread quickly and the crew to jump overboard. The two of us landed on one of the ships and we transformed back into our human forms and we paused for a moment, looked at each other and we nodded. We drew out our weapons and began to attack the crew. Zeke and I moved in sync with each other; our movements were always swift, concise and neat. The two of us had no experience with fighting with swords but it just seemed so natural for us. _Because we were meant for this,_ I thought as I wacked a crew member over the head with the hilt of my dagger. I looked over at Zeke and we ran together on the burning ship, dodging blows from angry pirates and avoiding falling, flaming beams that were falling from the masts. Zeke and I ran until we got to the bow of the ship and we turned back into our Phoenix and Peacock forms once again.

Zeke and I did this for each of the ships and I practiced using my balls of light that I threw to create a diversion for the crews. Zeke would then throw a flaming ball of fire at a ship and our powers combined together created a force so strong that we actually blew up a ship. _Holy shit,_ I said to Zeke through our telepathic communication. _Did we just blow up a ship?_ He nodded. _Yeah. And it was crazy._ I looked at Zeke. _We need to keep doing this,_ I told him. _Okay, but let’s not get it too out of hand._ Zeke and I continued our rounds but this time we took turns who would shoot. In one instance, Zeke and I switched back to our human forms in mid air and we grabbed the ropes that were hanging from the masts and swung across the ship, with our swords drawn out of course. We flipped in mid air and landed on our feet and we began to duel with the crew members. Some of them started to back away and I heard one of them say “Al-Zuras was right about the Voice.” _Yeah, you should’ve listened to him,_ I thought as I hit a crew member with a ball of light. _Or else, your ship might not be on fire._

Luckily, Zeke and I had help on the land side of things. Al-Zuras and his crew were doing the fighting on the land and Jared and Drea were helping get the civilians to safety. After all but three ships were down, we flew back to land to confront Ibrahim to tell him that this was the consequence of not listening to the Callings. When we got to shore, we changed back into our human forms and we saw Chloe battling Ibrahim in single combat. Chloe was excellent with her dagger. Her movements were so neat, so concise and swift. Zeke looked at me. “Never thought Chloe could do that,” he said to me. “Well. she spent most of her life with sailors so I guess she learned from them.” I told him. Zeke pursed his lips. “Makes sense.” Just then, we saw Chloe duck her head from a blow from Ibrahim’s sword and she kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to fall on the ground. As he tried to get back up, Chloe stabbed him in the arm to weaken him. “Chloe, stop!” Zeke yelled. “That’s enough.” Chloe glared at her brother. “I had him, Zeke,” she snapped. “Chloe, step away, we’ll finish this.” I told her. She rolled her eyes and stepped away. Zeke and I looked at each other and then at Ibrahim. We walked over to him.

“Ibrahim.” Zeke said, his voice cold. “This is what you get when you don’t listen to the Callings.” Zeke gestured to Ibrahim’s smoldering armada. Ibrahim let out a whimper. “Your precious armada isn’t coming back,” I said. “Most of your crew jumped overboard or died in the fires. This could’ve been avoided if you had listened.” Ibrahim sighed. Suddenly we heard footsteps behind us and we saw Al-Zuras head towards us. He didn’t have his sword. “Ibrahim,” he said as he got closer. “Why would you do this to me and your fellow crew members?”

“Because I thought you were crazy to listen to that voice in your head,” Ibrahim sneered.

“And yet, you were the one who was crazy enough to cause a mutiny on our ship and take half of the crew with you to escape the Voice. You knew what you saw.”

“Those two.” Ibrahim pointed at Zeke and I. “They are the cause of my downfall.”

“No,” said Al-Zuras. “They helped you see that following the Voice is the only way.”

Ibrahim sighed. “I guess you’re right, Yusuf,” he said as he got up. But just then, there was a loud thunder clap and suddenly lightning shot across the sky. It hit the last three ships and a bright flash filled the harbor, that we had to shield our eyes from the light. When the light faded, to our shock and horror, the ships were gone. And Ibrahim too. “Where the hell did he go?” asked Zeke. I shook my head. “I haven’t gotten the faintest idea, but I assume there is something more going on.” “The lightning has something to do with our disappearances but why?” asked Al-Zuras. Zeke and I shrugged. “We still don’t know why, but you can join my brother in searching for answers,” I said as I gestured towards Ben who came towards us. _We did what the Callings wanted us to, but why did Ibrahim disappear?_ I wondered as I felt Zeke pull me close to his side. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. _It’s not over yet._


	24. Zeke

After the battle was over and done, Mick and I went back to our apartment where we crashed on our bed and slept for God knows how long. When we woke up hours later, we noticed it was mid afternoon. “Jesus Mick,” I said as I looked at the alarm clock and noticed it was past four in the afternoon. “We slept a lot.” She nodded. “Mhhmmm,” she responded sleepily as she fell back down on the bed. “Join me,” she said as she pulled me closer to her side. I smiled at her and I snuggled closer to her side. Her regular, even breathing told me she was asleep. I didn’t fall asleep quite yet.

As Mick slept beside me, her arms wrapped around me and her head lying on my chest, I let my mind wander. A shared Calling of all things had led us to discover our true destiny and how we were always meant to be together. The Callings led me to her and they led her to me. Mick listened to the Callings and she never questioned them until I was to the point where I was dying. I could tell how much pain she was in. It hurt me, watching the love of my life suffer in torment that the Callings were doing this to me and destroying the happiness we had found with each other. I remember the nights where she would wake up in tears, having nightmares about my death and how bleak and miserable her life would be without me.

_“I don’t want to lose you, Zeke,”_ she had sobbed into my neck as I held her close to me one night in November. _“I love you so much and I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”_ I had cried too. Those days were dark days and we had tried to make every moment count, but I knew that my time was slipping away faster and faster. I didn’t want to lose her either. I had fought to stay alive for her, but I had realized that I wasn’t living. It was shortly after I had reunited with Dad that I started to see that I needed to spend my last days with the one person I loved the most. It was that day that I got the idea to marry her and I was overjoyed when she said yes to my proposal. We both thought we didn’t have much time left and we thought by getting married that we would be able to have a little bit of happiness before the Death Date claimed me. But the Callings had other plans because they wanted me to live. And I was so glad that I did live. I gazed at Mick, who laid asleep close to me. _And now, we get to have everything that we want and more,_ I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.

When we woke up later, it was morning. We both checked our phones and we got all sorts of messages from Ben, Grace, Jared and Drea. I had gotten a message from Mom, inviting Mick and I over to dinner at her place. “Damn we sure missed a lot,” Mick said as she scrolled through her text messages. “Tell me about it,” I said as I responded to Mom’s text. “Mom wants us to come over to dinner.” I told Mick. She smiled. “That sounds lovely. Plus, Chloe will be there.” I smiled at the thought of Chloe. _Hopefully there won’t be loud belching at the dinner table,_ I thought as I remembered that loud belch she gave when she was way younger. There was a lot that Chloe and I had to catch up on.

Later that day, Mick and I had dinner at my parent’s place. We had lasagna that I helped Mom cook and Mick sat with my dad and Chloe in the living room while I made dinner. Mom looked at me. “Zeke, when I heard that you got into that accident with Michaela, I thought I was going to lose my other child,” she whispered. “But, I got both of my children back. Our family is back together again.” I nodded. “We are,” I murmured as I pulled her close for a hug. “And now, our family got bigger with Mick of course.” I added as I turned and gazed at my beautiful wife. She smiled at me and I felt my heart turn over. _I am the luckiest man in the world,_ I thought to myself. _So so lucky._ Lucky to be alive, lucky to have my family and lucky to have someone who loved me for who I truly was.

After dinner, we played Monopoly together as a family and Chloe won, quite easily. After Monopoly, we watched The Lion King at Chloe’s request and after that, Mick and I decided to head home. As we were leaving, Mick pulled me aside. “There’s somewhere I want to go with you,” she whispered. “Where’s that?” I asked her. “You’ll find out.” she grinned at me as she led me out the door.


	25. Michaela

I took Zeke to Central Park and we flew up into one of the trees and we sat up there, watching the sun set. Zeke wrapped his arm around me and I leaned my head against his shoulder and I sighed.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I murmured. “I’m with you.”

“We went through a lot, didn’t we Mick?”

I nodded. “We sure did.”

We were silent for a moment. Then Zeke spoke.

“You remember when we were in The In Between and we learned that our union was foretold for an aeon?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

“The moment that I met you, I knew I had found the one that my soul had always longed for.”

I looked into Zeke’s hazel eyes and he took my hands in his own. “Mick, you are and will always be my soulmate. I love you more than words can describe.” I smiled at him. “And I love you too, Zeke," I whispered. "I knew that night when we first met, or even before that, that you were the one who I was always meant to be with.” There was no denying that connection that Zeke and I shared. It was a very unique and powerful bond that was only meant for us two alone. And now, as the Phoenix and the Peacock, we knew that this was what we were always destined for. Zeke and I gazed into each other’s eyes and we moved as one and we closed the space between our lips. I felt Zeke put his hand behind my head as he pulled me closer to me. I put my hand on his cheek as we came up for air and we kissed again. I poured everything into that kiss, feeling all the love that I had for him in that kiss.

When we pulled apart, I looked behind me and noticed that the sun was setting. I smiled at Zeke. “You wanna go on an adventure with me?” I asked him. He grinned. “Always. I have many more adventures to journey with you, Mick.”

We felt ourselves transform into our Phoenix and Peacock forms and we flew towards the sunset, feeling the wind flowing through our feathers. I gazed at Zeke and he gave me a nod and he gave a shree. I let out a shree and he flew ahead of me. I saw his feathers begin to cast off sparks into the sunlight and I noticed my feathers begin to shimmer with the light as the sun cast its rays on me. I caught up to him and we flew in sync with each other into the sunset. Zeke and I knew that there was always something that drew us to each other. And whatever mysterious force that had brought us together had no intention, no desire to tear us apart ever again.


End file.
